Repeated History
by JasonMorganfan87
Summary: Starr is attacked at a party, forcing Todd and Marty to confront their horrid past in order to help Starr heal.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Life To Live or any of its characters.**

**Repeated History**

**Warning: Contains violence and sexual assault.**

Starr manning sat in a chair feeing miserable. She was at a high school party with her friend Langston. She didn't really want to go. Her boyfriend was in jail because he tried to murder her father. All she really wanted to do was sit at home with her daughter, but Langston and her mother had pushed her into going.

Soon Langston went over towards her. "Starr, what are you doing? Get up and dance or something."

"I'm not exactly in the dancing mood, Langston," Starr told her friend.

"Look, I know you're upset about Cole, but that's why you need to be here. You need to have some fun and forget about it for the night**."**

"I don't know," Starr said unsure. She did want to have fun, but she didn't think she'd be able to with everything going on.

"Come on," Langston said as she pulled her friend up. "You are going to have fun,"

"Alright," Starr said. "I'll try to have a good time," she said.

"Good," Langston said smiling.

Starr then went over to the punch bowl to get a drink. She saw a guy with curly blond hair and blue eyes there. He seemed to be having as good a time as she was. "Hi," she said politely.

"Hey," he greeted. "You don't look like you're having too much fun."

"Honestly, I'm not," Starr said.

"Yeah, me either. I'm Jason by the way," he said putting out his hand.

"Starr," she said as she shook his hand.

"So, did someone drag you hear too?" asked Jason.

Starr laughed. "Yeah, my friend Langston. You?"

"Well, actually this is my house, but my brother Rick convinced me to come to the party," he said.

Starr nodded. "Do you happen to have a phone around? Mine isn't working and I really need to check in at him," she said. She wanted to call her mom and make sure Hope was okay.

Jason smiled. "It's upstairs. Come on, I'll show you."

Starr then followed Jason upstairs and into one of the bedrooms. When they got there, Starr noticed another, slightly older boy, who was smiling wickedly.

Starr turned around to leave. Something felt really wrong about this. When she turned around, she noticed that Jason's nice smile turned to an evil one. She watched as he locked the door. "What are you doing? Let me out!"

Jason pushed her onto the bed. "Sorry, can't do that," he said. He then got up on top of her.

"No, get off me!" She screamed. She was terrified. She knew exactly what was about to happen to her, and that scared her above all else.

"You better shut her up, Jason," said the other boy.

Jason put his hand over Starr's mouth to muffle her screams.

Starr tried to fight him, but it was no use. After awhile she just closed her eyes and prayed for it to be over fast.


	2. Chapter 2

Todd was woken up that night by the sound of pounding on the front door. "What the hell?" he asked out loud as he started to get up. The pounding got more and more frequent as he got closer to the door. He was starting to get irritated. First of all, who would be banging on his door in the middle of the night. Second, if he didn't answer the first time that should tell them something.

When Todd opened the door, a crying Starr instantly collapsed in his arms. Todd brought himself and Starr down to the floor. "Starr, what's wrong? What happened?"

Starr didn't say a word. She just continued to cry in her father's arms.

Todd knew something was very long. He'd never seen Starr like this. Not once in her entire life. She looked awful. Someone had hurt her. He knew it. He didn't know how or why, but someone had done something to his little girl. "Sweetie, tell me what happened, please."

"I'm sorry, Dad. I tried to stop them," Starr cried hysterically.

Todd's eyes widened in absolute horror. He knew what happened. He didn't need to hear anything else. His little girl had been raped.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later, Starr was asleep in Todd's bed and Todd sat on the floor of the living room with his knees brought up to his chest. He was absolutely devastated. The one thing he feared the most had come to pass. Someone had raped his daughter the same way that he'd raped Marty.

Todd got up and went over to the phone and started dialing. He put the phone up to his ear and waited for an answer. "Hey, it's Todd. Please, don't hang up. I need your help," he pleaded. As hard as he could, he couldn't keep the emotion out of his voice.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

About a half an hour later, an extremely irritated Marty knocked on Todd's door. He'd called her at 4 in the morning and asked for her help. Normally she would have ignored him or told him to go to hell, but something in his voice made her come over. She'd never heard him like that before. He sounded horrible.

A second later, Todd opened the door and then walked away, signaling for her to come in and close the door behind her.

Marty walked in and followed Todd into the living room. "What is going on? Why am I here?"

Todd sat on the couch and looked down. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called you, but I didn't know what else to do," he cried.

"What? What happened?" she asked again.

Todd looked up at her. "My daughter was raped."

Marty felt her heart drop. That was the last thing she expected or wanted to hear. "Are you sure?" she asked. She needed to make sure. It was possible that Todd was overreacting. It wouldn't be the first time.

"I'm sure. She showed up crying and she said that she tried to stop _them_," he told her.

Marty had to admit that that sounded really bad. It definitely described the behavior of the typical rape victim. "Where is she?"

"She's upstairs sleeping. I think she's sleeping. She might not be. She might not be sleeping," Todd said.

Marty could tell he was mostly talking to himself at this point. He was falling apart and she couldn't let him do that. Starr needed her father now more than ever. Marty went over to Todd. She knelt in front of him and put her hands on the sides of his head, forcing him to look at her. "Listen to me. Now is not the time to fall apart. You cannot fall apart. Starr needs you. She is counting on you to keep it together, so you need to do that. Now. I need you to tell me what else Starr said to you."

"She said she was sorry," Todd answered before burying his face in his hands and crying.

Marty stood up and sat next to Todd on the couch. Everything was adding up. Starr was fitting all the signs of a rape victim. "You said she said them?"

"Yeah. She said she tried to fight them," he answered.

Marty sat back somberly. It seemed Starr was not just raped, but she was raped by multiple men, just like she'd been. It was the one thing she never wanted to have in common with anyone. She looked over at Todd, who was clearly devastated. Despite everything, she felt for him. No father should ever have to find out that his child had been raped, even if had once committed that same crime himself..


	3. Chapter 3

Marty walked into the living room from the kitchen and handed him a water bottle. "Here, drink this."

"Thanks," Todd said as he took the water. "What do I do?"

Marty sighed. "First, we need to take Starr to the hospital. She needs to be examined. We need to do it in a way that gives her control."

"How?" he asked.

"She needs to agree to go," Marty answered.

They then heard a scream from upstairs. Todd jumped up to go to his daughter, but Marty held him back. "Listen me. You need to careful. Be careful what you say and be careful what you do. Do you understand?"

Todd nodded. He then ran up the stair to his daughter's room. When he got there, he saw Starr sitting up crying and rocking back and forth. Todd moved forward and hesitantly sat on the bed. He wanted to hold her in his arms, but he remembered what Marty had said. He had to be really careful about what he said and did, especially when it came to touching her.

Starr leaned forward and latched onto her father for dear life. She couldn't get it out of her head. She felt so horrible. She could still feel those boys all over her. All she wanted was to be safe in her father's arms.

"It's okay, honey. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere," Todd soothed.

Starr continued to cry in his arms. "I tried to stop them, Dad. I swear."

"I know. It's not your fault. There was nothing that you could have done," Todd told her. It broke his heart to hear her blame herself for what those monsters did.

Starr was starting to calm down when he heard a noise from downstairs. "Someone's down there," said a panicked Starr.

'No, it's okay, sweetie. It's Marty," Todd said quickly.

"You told her?" Starr asked.

"I though she could help," Todd explained.

"Can I see her?" Starr asked. She knew that Marty would understand what she was going through because she'd been through the same thing. Marty might be the only person that could help her.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Marty walked into Starr's room and sat down on the bed. Starr immediately collapsed in her arms. "It's okay, Honey. I know."

"I tried to fight, I did," Starr said.

"Shhh. I know," Marty said softly.

"Oh God, I feel so disgusting. I need to shower," Starr said as she started to get up.

Marty stopped Starr from leaving the room. "I know you do, honey, but you can't right now. You need to be examined."

Starr's eyes went wide in fear. "No, Please, I don't want to. I just want to forget that ever happened."

Marty could relate to that. She didn't want to go to the hospital at first either. "I know, sweetheart, but you can't. You can't make it go away."

"I can try," Starr insisted.

"I tried too, but it doesn't work. It doesn't go away. It's always there. I'm sorry. I never wanted anything like this to happen to you," Marty said sympathetically.

"I don't know what to do," Starr said crying.

"I know, but you're not alone. Your father and I are here. Let us help you," she said.

"It's too late," Starr said. She honestly wasn't sure she could be helped. They couldn't rewrite history.

"Of course, it's not too late. You can get through this, and I will help you, so will your parents. We will help you take your life back," Marty assured her.

"Can you do it? The exam?" she asked.

Marty sighed. "No, I can't. But I can be there. I can hold your hand while it happens."

Starr was silent for a few minutes, but finally agreed.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Todd sat in a chair outside of the exam room that Starr was being examined in. He still couldn't believe how this night had turned out. His daughter had just been raped. A part of him wondered if this was poetic justice. He'd raped Marty and now someone had raped his little girl.

A second later, Marty walked out and sat next to Todd. "There were two of them. It was at a party and one of them led her upstairs."

"Did she know them?" he asked.

"No. They were both strangers. The one that led her upstairs told her that the phone was up there. She wanted to check on Hope," Marty said.

Todd went from feeling devastated and guilty to enraged. He wanted to find those boys and kill them very slowly. He wanted to hurt them the way they hurt his daughter.

"I know what you're thinking, Todd, but you can't. Starr needs you. She needs the people who love her to help get her through this. This is the hardest time of her life. Nothing in her life will ever be worse," she explained.

Todd knew that Marty was right. Starr needed the people who loved her to be there for her. She needed all of them. "You're right. Can you stay with her for awhile?"

"Of course, but where are going?" Marty asked suspiciously. The last thing Starr needed was for Todd to be arrested for killing her attackers.

"Don't worry, I'm not going after them. I don't even who they are," he told her.

Then where are you going?" asked Marty.

"There's just something I need to do for Starr," he answered before leaving.


	4. Chapter 4

Cole was sitting on the cot in his jail cell when John came over. He immediately got up and went over to the bars. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Well, Nora and Eli are working on getting you another bail hearing," John said.

"I still can't believe I'm stuck in here while Todd Manning is out on bail," Cole complained.

"He'll be back here soon enough," John assured him.

They then heard someone come in and turned around to see Brody there with Todd. "What are you doing here Manning?" John asked.

Todd ignored him and focused on Cole. "Listen to me, you little punk. I don't like you. I will never like you. As far as I'm concerned, you are nothing but an arrogant, selfish, waste of space."

"Where do you get off-" Cole started.

"Shut up!" Todd screamed. He was not up for Cole's crap. This day had literally been the worst day of his entire life. "For once in your life shut up and listen. I should leave you to rot here. You tried to kill me in front of my kids. Not even my daughter's screams could sway you."

Cole was getting angry. Who was Todd to come here and lecture him. "You pushed my mom down-"

"What part of shut the hell up don't you understand?" Todd asked angrily. "I don't really give a damn what you believe, but I'm about to give the most generous gift that I have ever given anyone, so I suggest you keep your mouth shut!"

"I don't want anything from you," Cole said hatefully.

"And I'm not doing it for you. If I had it my way, you would spend the rest of your pathetic little life. I'm doing this for my daughter. Because as much as I hate it, she needs you. Now more than ever," Todd explained. He hated this. He hated Cole Thornhart and nothing would make him happier than to have him as far away from Starr as possible, but Marty was right. Starr needed the people she loved right now, and whether he liked it or not that included Cole.

Todd turned to Brody. "Let him go."

"You're dropping the charges against him?" John asked skeptically.

"Yes," Todd answered.

"What's in it for you?" John asked.

"I'm doing this for Starr. No one else," he answered.

"What's wrong with Starr?" Cole asked after Brody let him out.

"I'll tell you on the way," replied Todd.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

"How are you doing, sweetie?" Marty asked as she sat next to Starr.

"I want to go home? Where's my dad?" Starr asked. She just wanted to go home and feel safe in her father's arms.

"He'll be right back, I promise. Do you want me to call your mom?" asked Marty.

Starr just shook her head. "She told me to go to the party."

"Do you blame her, Starr?" she asked.

Starr started crying. "I know I shouldn't. I know it's not really her fault, but I didn't want to go. I just wanted to stay home with Hope."

Marty understood where Starr was coming from. She was looking for someone to blame and right now Blair was the perfect outlet for forcing her to go to that party.

"Cole!" Starr exclaimed.

Marty turned around and saw Todd and her son standing in the doorway. She was frankly very surprised. Cole was supposed to be in jail for attacking Todd. Todd must have done something.

Cole rushed over to Starr's side and put his arms around her. "It's okay, Starr. I'm hear now. I'm so sorry."

Marty looked over at Todd and smiled at him gratefully. He must have dropped the charges against Cole for Starr's sake. That spoke volumes. He hated Cole, so it must have taken a lot for him to get Cole freed. In that moment, Marty knew that Todd would do anything to help Starr through this.


	5. Chapter 5

A few minutes later, Todd and Marty walked into the hallway. "Thank you for getting Cole released," said Marty.

"I did if for Starr," Todd said.

"I know, but I'm still grateful," she said.

Todd nodded. He then looked behind her. Cole had just come our. "How is she?"

"She's asleep," Cole answered. "How did this happen?"

"She was at some party. She was led upstairs by some guy and he and his buddy raped her," Todd explained.

Cole glared at him. "You mean the way you and your buddies raped my mom?"

"Cole that's enough," Marty reprimanded.

"You think I don't know that? Todd asked Cole. "You think I don't know that I was just like those boy's? I know what I did. I live with it every single day. There isn't a damn thing you can say to me that I haven't already said to myself."

"You think that makes it okay? You think just because you feel bad that makes it better?" Cole asked angrily.

"What do you want me to do?" Todd yelled. "Do you want me to go back in time? Don't you think I would if I could. I can't change what happened. I wish I could."

"You can't do anything. I wish you'd just stay out of our lives," Cole said.

"And I wish you were out of my daughter's life. You can't always get what you want," Todd countered.

"I'm not a rapist or a murderer," he said.

"The only reason you're not a murder is because of some very skillful doctors," Todd retorted.

"You deserved it! You pushed my mother down the stairs!" Cole yelled.

"Stop it! Both of you!" Marty demanded. "Do you think that ripping into each other is going to help Starr? She doesn't need the two of you fighting right now."

Todd looked down. He knew Marty was right. Starr needed them both right now, which was why he'd gotten Cole released from jail. He had find a way to deal with Cole for Starr's sake.

"I don't know if I can do this, Mom. I don't think I can deal with this piece of crap," Cole said.

"Then leave," Marty said bluntly.

"What?" Cole asked taken aback. Why was his mother taking Todd's side over his.

"You heard me. Starr needs people who lover her right now. People that will put their petty differences aside for her sake. If you can't that then leave," she said.

"Why are you yelling at me? He's the one-"

"He's the one that dropped the charges against you so that you could be here for Starr. He put his justified anger against you aside for his daughter's sake. If you can't do the same you shouldn't be here," Marty lectured. She wasn't trying to hurt her son or cut him out, but he needed to realize that this was not about him. He needed to put his personal feelings for Todd aside for Starr's sake.

Cole glared at Todd once more before storming out.

Todd went and sat in one of the chairs near Starr's room.

Marty went and sat next to him. "He'll come around."

Todd snorted. "It's not like he's wrong. He's dead on. I was just like those boys."

"What those boys did was horrible. So was what you did, but that's the past. This is now. Right now Starr needs you. You can't drown in self-pity. You can't change what you did or what they did. It'll drive you insane. Starr needs you to be there for her. You're all she has right now," she told him.

Todd nodded. He knew she was right. Dwelling on what could've or should've been would only make things worse. He couldn't do that. "I need to tell Blair."

"Blair can wait. Starr needs you right now," Marty said.

He nodded and went to see his daughter.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Marty went into her office and saw that Cole was waiting for he. "I thought you left."

"Why are you taking Todd's side over mine?

Marty sighed angrily. "This is not about you! Or Todd. This is about Starr. She is going through hell right now. She needs all the support she can get right now."

"And she'll have it from me. She doesn't need him," Cole said.

Marty shook her head in disbelief. "Do you know how selfish you sound right now? Starr has just been through something that no one should ever have to go through and all you can think of is yourself."

"I'm looking out for Starr. Todd's just going to hurt her," he said. He didn't understand why is mother couldn't see that Todd shouldn't be around Starr.

"Well, lately the only person that's been hurting Starr is you," Marty told her son.

"What are you talking about? I haven't hurt Starr." Cole said.

"No? You don't think trying to kill her father right in front of her hurt her?"

"Mom, he deserved it. He pushed you down the stairs. I did it for you," Cole insisted.

"I don't want you doing things like that for me. You didn't help me, Cole. If anything, you made it worse. You tried to kill a man. What would I have done if you'd gone to prison. What would Starr and Hope have done?" Marty asked.

"Look, I lost it, okay?"

"No, Cole. It's not okay. You don't get to do things like that. You don't get to try to kill people," she said forcefully.

"But he-" Cole started.

"I don't care!" Marty yelled. "I don't care what he did or didn't do. Getting justice is up to the police, not you."

"What do you want me to do? Apologize?"

"It'd be nice. Especially considering he dropped the charges when he didn't have to," Marty replied.

"I hate him," Cole said.

"Tough. Starr doesn't hate him. She loves him, and she loves you. Don't make her choose, not now," she said before leaving again to check on a patient.


	6. Chapter 6

Todd sat on his couch thinking. He and Marty just brought Starr home from the hospital. She refused to make a statement to the police. He couldn't really blame her. He knew what being raped felt like, and the shame that came with it.

Todd was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of a knock at the door. When he did, he came face to face with his ex-wife. "Blair. I was going to come find you later."

"Have you seen Starr? I convinced her to go to a party last night, but she never came back," Blair told him.

"You what?" Todd asked with an edge in his voice. He could feel anger building up inside. Blair was telling him that she sent their daughter to a party where she got raped.

"You idiot! Do you any idea what you've done? You destroyed our daughter's life!" Todd screamed.

"Todd, stop!" Marty as she ran down the stairs.

"No, but she-"

Marty grabbed Todd by the arm and pulled him to the other side of the room. "Listen to me. I know you're angry, but this is not Blair's fault."

"She told Starr to go! She pressured my daughter into going to that party. This never would've happened if not for her!" Todd whispered angrily.

"Okay, maybe that's true. She pressured Starr into going to that party, and maybe she shouldn't have done that, but she didn't know what would happen. She didn't send those boys to rape her. I know you want to blame someone for this, but that someone can't be Starr's mother. Starr needs you to believe that her mother is not responsible for this. So she can believe it," Marty explained.

"Starr blames Blair?" Todd asked.

Marty nodded. "She, like you, is looking for someone to blame. Blair is the most obvious choice right now. It's not her fault though. You need to realize that, so that Starr can realize that. If she thinks you blame her mother, she will continue to do so as well."

Todd sighed. Marty was right. He knew it wasn't really Blair's fault. He was just looking for someone to take his anger out on. The punks that raped his little girl weren't there, so he'd gone after the next best target.

Todd walked back over to Blair. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you."

"What the hell is going on, Todd? Where's Starr?" Blair asked.

"She's upstairs sleeping," he answered.

"Why is she here? Why didn't she come back to the house last night to get Hope. And what is she doing here?" Blair asked, referring to Marty.

"She's here to help Starr," Todd said quietly.

"Help her with what?" Blair asked exasperated.

Todd sighed. He wasn't sure how tell her. How did he tell her that someone had raped their little girl. "Blair, late last night, Starr showed up at my doorstep. She was a wreck."

"What happened?" she asked, afraid of the answer.

"Someone lured her upstairs. Told her she could call to check on Hope. He brought her to his bedroom, where he and his buddy raped her,"

Blair felt her stomach drop. She couldn't have heard that. They was no way she'd heard Todd say that her little girl had been raped. "You did not just say that."

"I'm sorry," Todd said. He didn't know what else to say. What else could he say? There was nothing he could do to help Blair accept the truth.

"You take it back Todd. You tell me that you're lying," Blair demanded. He had to be lying. He just had to be.

"I wish I was lying. I really do. I'd give anything for this to not be true," Todd said, his voice starting to crack.

Blair knew he wasn't lying. The despair in his voice told her as much. "Oh My God," she cried out before putting her hand to her mouth.

Todd and Marty helped Blair over to the couch.

Blair took a couple deep breaths before turning to Todd. "Tell me what happened."

Todd went and sat next to Blair. "She showed up in the middle of the night. She was a mess. She kept repeating the same thing over and over again. 'I tried to stop them'. A few hours later, she fell asleep. That's when I called Marty.

Blair stood up angrily. "You called Marty? Why the hell didn't call me? I'm her mother! I should've been the first person you called!"

Todd jumped up with hard and angry expression on his face. "Oh, I'm sorry, am I not handling this the right way. Tell me, Blair, how should I handle my daughter's rape?

"Alright, both of you knock it off. This isn't helping anyone," Marty said.

"Stay out of this, Marty. This is none of your business," Blair snarled.

"Hey! You want be angry at me? Fine, but there is no reason for you to go after Marty. She is trying to help our daughter," Todd told her.

"Yeah, well I would've been there if you would called me. But no, you had to called Marty Saybrooke instead!" Blair yelled. She was extremely angry that she was the last one to know about all this.

"Mom, stop!"

Everyone turned and saw Starr in the doorway.

"Please stop yelling at them. They haven't done anything wrong. They're trying to help me," Starr said in defense of her father and Marty.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. I shouldn't have yelled. Are you alright?" Blair asked.

"No," Starr said as if it were obvious.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't here. I would've been if I'd known," she said before sending Todd a quick glare. Listen, why don't we go home. Then we can talk. Just you and me."

Starr shook her head. "No, I'm staying here."

Blair could keep the hurt she felt from reaching her face. It was like Starr didn't want her around.

Starr noticed how much her mother was hurting. "I'm sorry, mom, and I know it's not right, but all I think about is that if you and Langston hadn't convinced me to go to that party, I would be home with my daughter right now."

"Starr, I swear, If I'd known-"

"I know," she cut off. "I know it's not really your fault. I know I shouldn't blame you. But I do. I feel things that I known I shouldn't feel. And I hate it. I just want it to stop!" she screamed.

Todd went over and put his arms around his little girl.

Blair wanted to go over to her daughter, but she couldn't. She knew she would do more harm then good. "I'm going to go. Don't worry about Hope, Starr. I've got her until you're ready." she said before reluctantly leaving.

After a minute Starr let go of her father. "Wait did she just say she had Hope?"

"Yeah, you left her with her," Todd reminded.

"Yeah, but I figured Cole went and got her after he left the hospital. If he's not looking after Hope, why isn't he here?" Starr asked. She had to wonder if Cole just didn't want to be around her after what happened.

Marty silently cursed her son. She could tell what Starr was thinking and it made her extremely angry at her son. "I think he just needed a couple hours to process things. Then he's either going to come here or go get Hope from your mom's.

Starr nodded. "I think I'm going to go back upstairs and lay down," she said before heading out of the room and up the stairs.

"It won't be long before she figures out that you lied," Todd told Marty.

"Oh, I didn't lie," Marty said before grabbing her purse and heading towards the front door.

"Where you going?" Todd wondered.

Marty turned to him with her hand on the doorknob. "I'm going to find my son and pull his head out of his ass!" she said before opening the door and walking out.


	7. Chapter 7

Cole sat on the couch in his apartment. He couldn't get Starr out of his head. The woman he loved had been raped. Some sick freaks had forced themselves on her. He wanted to ill them. He wanted to hunt them down and rip them apart. But mostly, he wanted to be with Starr.

Cole started get angry at his mother. How could she keep him away? How could she let Todd Manning near Starr and not him? She was his mother. She was supposed to be on his side.

Cole was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of someone knocking at the door. He went to answer and found Hannah on the other side. "Hannah, what are you doing here?"

"I heard you'd been released. I just wanted to come by and congratulate you. Can I come in?" Hannah asked.

"Yeah, of course," Cole said as he moved aside.

Hannah quickly entered the apartment. "So what happened?"

Cole closed the door and led Hannah over to the couch, where they both sat down. "Todd dropped the charges."

"That's great," Hannah said smiling.

"No, it's not. I'd rather be in jail." he told her. He meant it to. He would rather spend the rest of his life in jail than be released because Starr was raped.

"Why?" Hannah asked.

"Because the only reason Todd let me out was because Starr needed my help," he answered.

"What do you mean? Is Starr Okay?" Hannah asked.

"No. She was raped," Cole told her. He knew Starr probably wouldn't want Hannah to know, but he needed someone to help him deal with this. Besides, he trusted Hannah. She would tell anyone.

"That's awful. Poor Starr," Hannah said feigning concern. "How come you're not with her.

"My mom made me leave," Cole said bitterly.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because I was fighting with Todd. My mom said Starr shouldn't be around people that were fighting," Cole explained.

"So why didn't she make Todd leave? It's you that should've been aloud to stay," Hannah telling him exactly what he wanted to hear.

Cole smiled. Final someone who understood that Todd Manning should've been the one cut out, not him.

Soon there was knock at the door. Cole got up and answered it. It was his mother.

Marty immediately walked inside, where she found Hannah.

Hannah stood up. "Hi, Doctor Saybrooke."

"Hannah. If you don't mind, I need to speak to my son alone," Marty said, basically telling the young woman to leave.

"Of course," she said before turning to Cole. "I'll see you later." She then walked out the door.

Once Hannah was gone Marty whipped around on Cole. "What the hell is wrong with you? Your girlfriend is suffering across town and you're here with a girl Starr hates?"

"Hannah just came to congratulate me for being released," Cole said.

"Why are you even here? You should be with Starr," Marty said

"You told me to leave!" Cole yelled."

"Don't you dare yell at me," Marty said in a dangerously low voice. "And I told to get your act together. To stop acting like an ass and be there for Starr. You decided you couldn't do that. _You_ made that choice."

"Why am I the one that had to leave? Todd was fighting with me too," Cole said.

"And he stopped when I told him to! He put his love for Starr over his anger for you. You refused to do the same," Marty replied.

"Why should I have to? I hate Todd Manning," Cole said angrily.

"I don't care! You think I like being around Todd? I've got much more reason to hate him than you do. But I put it aside to help Starr. If I can get over myself to help Starr, so can you. And you _will. _You will not sit here in your own selfishness. You're going to do something for Starr. So you either get your head out of your ass and go see your girlfriend, or you go over to Blair's and go get your daughter. But you will not squander the gift Todd gave you." Marty told her son. She loved him, but she was getting really getting tired of his selfishness. "So what's it going to be?"

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Hannah O'Connor stood in the park. The person she was waiting for was late. She looked around and finally spotted who she was looking for. "Where the hell have you been?"

A young man with short blond hair approached. "I'm sorry, I've been a bit nervous. I don't know this, but I just committed rape."

"For a great deal of money," Hannah reminded him.

"Speaking of, where is it?"

"Don't worry, Jason, you'll get the cash. Just as long as you and your brother disappear," Hannah told him.

"Just out of curiosity, what was the point? You must really have it in for this girl to arrange a gang rape," Jason noted.

"It wasn't about her. I was trying to drive a wedge between her and her boyfriend," Hannah replied. It worked out perfectly too. Even better than she imagined. Not only did it distance Cole from Starr, it was creating friction between him and his own mother.

"Wow, you sure take drastic measures to get what you want," he commented.

Hannah took an envelope out of her bag and handed it to Jason. "Here's your money. Just get out of here before someone does find out."

"No problem with that," Jason said before walking away.


	8. Chapter 8

Marty was walking out of the Buenos Dias café with food for Todd and Starr when she ran into Hannah.

"Hi, Doctor Saybrooke," Hannah said.

"Hannah," Marty greeted coolly. She didn't like her. She didn't know what it was, but something with this girl was just not right.

"How's Starr?" Hannah asked with fake concern.

"What do you mean?" Marty asked.

"Cole told me about what happened to Starr," Hannah said.

For what seemed like the millionth time that day, Marty mentally cursed her son. He had absolutely no right to disclose personal information about Starr. "He shouldn't have done that."

"Well, Cole needed a friend. He needed someone to be on his side," Hannah said

Marty laughed humorlessly. She could tell that that comment was a shot at her. "Well, aren't you subtle."

"Oh no, I didn't mean anything by it. It's just that Cole doesn't feel like anyone's on his side. I didn't mean to offend you," Hannah said sweetly.

"Oh, I know what you meant, Hannah," Marty said.

"Look, I don't know what Starr told you, but I'm not what you think I am," Hannah said.

"Here's what I think. I think you're a very good actress. You're very good at getting people to think what you want them to," she said.

"No, it's not like that," Hannah tried.

Marty ignored her comment. "Like the way you got people to believe you about Todd."

"I told the truth."

"Save it for someone who believes your lies. I believed you at first. I thought you were very brave for speaking up against Todd. I was grateful to you for telling what I believed at the time was the truth," Marty said.

"It is the truth," Hannah insisted.

"I thought so at first. I mean, I could see no reason for you to lie," Marty said.

"I wouldn't," Hannah said.

Marty once again ignored. "But there's something that gave me pause after awhile. I've known Todd Manning my entire adult life. I know him. Probably better than anyone. He can be violent when people cross him. He's a very hostile person. But he's not a baby killer." She'd thinking about it ever since Starr had told her about the possibility of Hannah lying. Todd just wasn't capable of this. He would never intentionally harm a child.

Hannah laughed. "You're defending your rapist?"

"I'm not letting you target an innocent man in your quest to sink you claws into my son," Marty told her.

"Cole and I are just friends," Hannah said.

"You're no friend of Cole's. And I'm going to make sure he knows that," Marty said before walking away.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Todd was laying on the couch with his eyes closed. He was extremely tired. He hadn't slept since what happened to Starr.

"Dad?"

Todd immediate jumped up when he heard his daughter's voice. He saw her standing in the doorway. "Yeah, sweetheart."

"I didn't mean to wake you up," Starr said.

"You didn't. I was just resting my eyes. Is everything alright? Do you need something?" Todd asked.

Starr looked around. "Where's Marty?"

"She just went out for a few minutes. She'll be back soon," Todd assured her. "Can I get you something?"

"Well, I'm a little hungry," Starr said.

Just then they heard the door open. A second later, Marty walked into the living room with bags of food.

"Ask and you shall receive," Todd said as he took the bags from Marty.

Marty laughed. "Yeah, I figured you wouldn't have much food in the house." She then turned to Starr. "Hey, sweetie. How you doing?

Before Starr could answer, she heard a knock on the door. "Who's that?" she asked alarmed. She didn't want to see anyone. She didn't want anyone else to know.

"Haven't a clue," Todd said. He hadn't been expecting anyone.

"Don't worry. I'll get rid of them. Marty said. She went the door and opened it. It was Cole.

"Hi, Mom," Cole said.

"Well, better late than never," she commented. She was glad he was there, but she wasn't going to make this easy for him, especially after he'd told Hannah Starr's private business.

"Can I come in?" Cole asked.

"It's not up to me," Marty said before turning towards the living room. "Todd!"

Todd came out a few minutes later and walked over to them.

"Ask him," Marty told her son.

Cole sighed. "Can I come in and see Starr?"

A part of Todd wanted to tell Cole to go to hell, but he knew he couldn't do that. Starr needed him. "As long as you don't upset her."

Cole nodded and walked inside.

"She's in the living room," Todd said.

Cole quickly went towards the living room to see Starr.


	9. Chapter 9

Cole walked into the living room and saw Starr sittiing on the couch. She didn't look good. He'd never even seen her like that before. She looked so fragile. "Starr."

Starr turned and saw Cole standing in the doorway. She wasn't sure how she felt about him being there. Eerier she'd wanted him there, but now she wasn't so sure. Things seemed to change hourly for her. Right now, she felt very insecure. She wondered what he was thinking when he looked at her. Did he see the same person he used to or did he see something that was damaged.

"How are you doing?" Cole asked.

"I'm okay," Starr lied as she stood up.

Cole could tell she was lying. He could hear it in her voice. "I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner."

"Your mom said you just needed some time. But that's not true, is it? You just didn't want to see me. You think I'm dirty, don't you?" Starr asked.

Cole's eyes widened in horror. He never thought she would think that. How could she possibly think that. "No, that's not true. My mom made me leave because I was being stupid. I was fighting with your dad when I should've been helping you. It had nothing to do with you. It was just me being an ass."

Starr wasn't sure she believed him. For all she knew, he was lying to spare her feelings. She was having a very hard time trusting people right now. The only two people she trusted at all were her father and Marty.

"You believe me, right?" Cole asked. He didn't want her thinking that his feelings for had changed.

"I don't know. I don't know anything anymore," she said.

Cole tried to go over and hug her.

Starr took a retreating step back. "No, don't! Please, don't touch me."

Cole felt like he'd just been punched. Starr had just flinched away from him in fear. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Could you just please just go? I'm sorry, I just can't do this right now," Starr said. She loved Cole, but she just couldn't be around him right now.

Cole wasn't sure what to say. What did you say to your girlfriend when she was so afraid of you that she couldn't bare to be in the same room as you. He figured it was best to just leave, so he walked out of the room without saying another word.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Once Cole disappeared into the living room, Todd turned to Marty. "You really are miracle worker.

Marty laughed. "No, I'm not. I'm just his mother. There was no way I was going to let him make this all about him. He was going to suck it all up to be there for Starr whether he liked it or not."

"Thank you for everything you're doing for my daughter," Todd said. He was eternally grateful for what she was doing. He honestly didn't know what he would do without her.

"I'd do anything to help her. I know what she's going through," Marty said.

Todd looked away in shame. He was the reason Marty understood what Starr was going through. He'd do anything to change that, but he couldn't.

Marty saw the look in Todd's eyes. She knew what he was doing and she needed to put a stop to it. "No self-pity, Todd. Leave the past where it is. We can't change it. It's not going to help Starr to dwell on. We need to move forward."

"Alright," Todd agreed. If Marty was willing to leave what he did in the past, he needed to do the same.

"I owe you an apology," Marty said.

"No, you don't," Todd told her. It didn't even matter what it was she was apologizing for. As far as he was concerned, she would never owe him an apology. Ever.

"Yes, I do. I accused you of pushing me down the stairs and killing my baby. I'm sorry," Marty said.

"You believe me? You believe that I didn't do it?" Todd asked surprised.

"I do. I should've known right away that you wouldn't hurt a child, but I was really angry. I wanted someone to pay and you were the perfect target," she explained.

"It's alright. If I was in your position, I probably would've thought it was me too. I treated you horribly that day. I don't know why I did that. I guess I was just angry at the world. I'd just walked in on Cole and that girl Hannah with half her clothes off. Then after we fought, Cole proceeded to throw it in my face how much Dani hated me. As if I needed another reminder of that. It's no excuse, but I guess I was just looking for someone to take it out on," Todd explained.

"I can understand that. We've all taken our anger out on those who don't deserve it at one time or another," Marty said.

Todd went over to the stairs and sat down on one of the steps. "You know, when I think about everything that's happening right now, it makes everything else seem so stupid. So my daughter hates me. It's much better than my other daughter telling me she was raped.

Marty went over and stood in front of Todd. "Yeah. Things like this can be very sobering. It definitely puts things in perspective. It makes everything else seem so insignificant."

Todd sighed and rubbed his eyes. He was really tired.

Marty noticed this. "Hey, you should try to get some slept. You look exhausted."

"I can't. I need to be here for Starr," Todd said.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure Starr's alright. And if she really needs you, I'll wake you up," Marty promised. "You won't be any use to Starr you're exhausted.

"Alright. I know when I'm beat. But she needs me, you wake me up," he told her.

Marty nodded.

Todd then got up and walked up the stairs.

Once Todd was gone, Marty turned to see her son coming out of the living room. "How is she?"

"She asked me to leave. She's afraid of me," Cole said.

"She's afraid of everyone, Cole," Marty told her son. "Did you try to touch her?"

Cole nodded.

"Okay, you can't do that anymore. You need to let her come to you. You can not touch her unless she says it's okay," she said.

Cole nodded once more. "Starr told me how you covered for me when I was wasn't here."

"I didn't do that for you. I did it for Starr. The last thing she needed was to know that her boyfriend was more interested in drowning in his own selfishness than helping her," Marty sighed.

Cole sighed in frustration. "Okay, I get it. I screwed up. Can't you just give me a break?"

"I'll give you a break when you show me you deserve one," Marty said. It might seem like she was being a bit herd on her son, but given the circumstances, she felt he deserved it.

"I'm here, aren't I?" Cole asked. He knew he'd screwed up, but he wished his mother would just let it go.

"Yeah, after I twisted your arm. Not to mention that you disclosed Starr's personal information to someone she hates. What the hell is wrong with you?" Marty asked angrily. That was the part that pissed her off the most. Cole had completely disregarded Starr's right to her privacy.

"I just needed someone to talk to," he explained.

"There you go again. This is not about you!" Marty stressed.

"Okay, I get it," Cole assured her.

"I hope so. I don't want to have to have this conversation with you again. Do you understand me?" Marty asked.

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Good. Now, you need to go get your daughter. She needs one of her parents," Marty told her son.

Cole nodded and headed towards the door.

"Cole," she called.

Cole turned around to see what she wanted.

"I love you. Never doubt that," Marty told him. She needed him to know that even though she was unhappy with him, she still loved him.

"I love you too, Mom,:" he said before walking out the door.


	10. Chapter 10

Starr walked downstairs and ventured into the living room, where she found Marty.

"Hey, sweetie. Did you get any sleep?" Marty asked.

"No, not really. You stayed," Starr observed. She hadn't expected Marty to spend the night. She knew how she felt about her father.

"Of course. I'm not going anywhere until you're ready for me too," Marty assured her.

"Thanks. I need you here. You're the only one who understands," Starr told her.

Marty moved forward and put her arms around Starr. "I'll be here as long as you need me."

Starr pulled away after a minute. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Marty answered.

"Did you tell Cole to leave the hospital yesterday?" She had to know if that was the real reason Cole left. She still wasn't sure if he was telling the truth about that.

"Yes, I did," Marty admitted.

"Why?" Starr asked.

"Because Cole wasn't acting the way he should. He was more concerned with fighting with your father and I didn't think you should be around that," Marty explained. She hadn't wanted to tell Starr about how selfish Cole had been, but once asked, she wasn't going to lie.

"That's what he said," Starr responded.

"You didn't believe him?" Marty asked.

"I wasn't sure. I thought maybe he just didn't want anything to do with me after what happened," she said.

"Starr, you haven't done anything wrong. This is not your fault," Marty said. She'd said before, but she knew from experience that it needed be said again and again until Starr believed it.

"A part of me knows that. A part me knows that there's nothing I could've done to stop it. Just like a part of me knows it's not my mom's fault. But a part thinks it is. I'm not sure how to explain it," Starr said.

"You don't have to explain it. I know exactly what you mean," Marty said. She'd gone through the same thing when she was raped.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Starr asked. She had no idea what to do next. She felt so lost. She didn't know how to move on from this.

"You take it one day at a time. It won't be easy, but one day, you will be okay again. There is something I want you to think about though," she said.

"What?" Starr asked.

"I want you to consider filing a police report," Marty said.

Starr shook her head vigorously. "No. I can't." she didn't want anyone to no what happened to her. She certainly couldn't talk to the police about it.

"I'm not trying to pressure you into doing anything, sweetie. But I think these men need to pay for what they did to you," Marty said.

Starr turned away. "If I report it, people will find out about it. I don't want anyone to know.

Marty put her hands on Starr's shoulders. "I know you don't. But I honestly don't think that it can be avoided. I'm sorry, but people are you going to find out. And I think that having these men pay for what they did will help you. It won't undue what they did or give you back what they took, but it will give you some peace."

"Will you come with me?" Starr asked.

"Of course I will," Marty assured her.

"Hey. What's going on?"

Marty and Starr turned to see Todd in the doorway. "Hi, Dad. I've decided to press charges," Starr said.

"Good for you. Should we go now?" Todd asked. He personally would rather just hunt the bastards down and kill them himself, but this seemed to be something Starr needed to do. She needed to see them brought to justice. He could always kill them later if the legal way didn't work out.

"Yeah. If I don't do it know I never will," Starr said before leaving the room to go get ready.

"This is going to help her, right?" Todd asked.

"I think it will, yes. It'll be far from over, but it'll help her find a bit of peace," Marty replied.

"Well, the cops better make these scumbags pay. Because if they don't, I will," Todd said fiercely.


	11. Chapter 11

Marty, Todd, and Starr made there way through the police station and to John's office. Marty knocked on the already open door.

John looked up and was surprised to see Marty there with Todd Manning and his daughter. "What's going on?"

"We need to speak with you," Marty said.

"Okay. Come in," John said.

They walked in and over to John's desk. Todd then led Starr over to a chair. "Here, honey, sit down."

"So what do you all need?" John asked.

Marty looked at Starr. "It's okay, sweetie. Your father and I are here. We're not going anywhere."

Starr nodded before looking up at John. "I want to report a rape."

"You were raped?" John asked.

Starr nodded. "At a party. This guy led me upstairs. He told me I could use his phone to check on Hope. Instead he took me to his room, where he and his brother..." She was unable to go on. It hurt to much.

Todd put his arm around her. "It's okay. It's over."

"Did both these men attack you, Starr?" John asked.

:"Yes," Starr cried.

John looked up at Todd. "This is why you dropped the charges against Cole."

"I did what I had to do for my daughter," Todd said.

He looked back at Starr. "Did you know who these men were, Starr?"

Starr shook her head. "I'd never seen them before."

"Did you know their names?" John asked.

"The guy that led me upstairs told me his name was Jason. I don't know if it was true or not, or what his last name was. But it was his house. He said it was his brother's party," Starr explained.

"His brother was the other guy, right?" John asked.

"Yeah."

"Okay. We're going to get them, Starr. These guys are never going to hurt anyone ever again," John promised.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

A few minutes later, Todd and Marty stood outside of John's office. Starr was sitting in a chair a few feet away.

Soon John came over to them. "Alright. The boys who raped Starr are Rick and Jason Phillips. They both go to LU."

"What now, John?" Todd asked.

"I've got officers picking them up now. Starr will have to pick them out of a lineup, but they're going down,"John replied.

"Does it have to be done today? I don't think Starr can take anything else today," Marty said.

"No, we can do it tomorrow," John said.

"Okay, then I suggest we get out of here because if I'm here when those little bastards are brought in, the only trial anyone's going to be attending is mine," Todd said seriously. He knew if he stayed, he would kill both those boys. He would normally be okay with that, but Starr needed him out of prison.

"Yeah, let's go," Marty said.

Todd then went over to get Starr.

"Wait, you're going with them?" John asked surprised.

"Yes. I'm helping Starr," Marty said.

"So you're staying with Manning?" John couldn't believe what he was hearing. Marty shouldn't be going near Manning. Not after everything he did.

"I told you I'm helping Starr," Marty said.

"Why do you have to live with Manning to do that?" John asked.

"No offense, John, but this is really none of your business. We're broken up. You have no say in what I do," Marty told him.

"I'm just trying to look out for you, Marty," John said.

"And I'm trying to look out for Starr. She needs the people she trusts around her twenty-four/seven. And right now, the only people she trusts are me and Todd. I'm not going to leave her. Now, if you'll excuse me," Marty said before going over to Todd and Starr.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

A couple hours later, Starr was sitting on the couch between Todd and Marty. "So what's going to happen now?"

"Well, they're going to be arrested and then you're going to have to identify them. Do you think you can do that?" Marty asked.

"I'll never forget their faces. I see them whenever I close my eyes," Starr siad.

Marty put an arm around her to comfort her.

Starr leaned into her embrace. "Is it ever going to go away?" Starr asked.

"No. I'm sorry, but it's not. It'll get easier, but it will never truly go away," Marty said sadly. As much as she wanted to tell Starr it would all go away one day, she couldn't. Starr needed to be able to trust the people around her.

Soon they all heard the sound of the doorbell. "I'll get it." Marty said

Todd put his arm around Starr and turned to Marty. "Get rid of whoever it is, Please."

Marty nodded. She then left the living room and closed the door to it before going to the front door. She found Blair on the other side.

"What are you still doing here?" Blair asked.

"Starr wanted me here, so I'm here," Marty said. She was trying to keep her temper in check, but Blair was already pissing her off.

"Well, she doesn't need you anymore. I'm taking my daughter home," Blair said as she tried to come through.

Marty gently pushed Blair out the door. She then walked outside and closed the door.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Marty. Get out of my way," Blair demanded.

"No. Starr doesn't need you going in there and making things worse," Marty said.

"I don't need you to tell me what my daughter needs. What would you know anyway?" Blair asked hatefully.

"I know everything about this. I lived it," Marty said.

Blair rolled her eyes. "So we're back to that again, are we? Still trying to get sympathy I see."

"That right there is why you're not going in there. I'm not going to let you do to Starr what you did to me. I'm not going to let you act like she's weak because she can't just bounce back from being gang raped," Marty told her. She still remembered Blair accusing her of using the rape to get sympathy. She was not going to let Blair do that to Starr.

"I love my daughter, Marty!" Blair yelled.

"I know you do, Blair. But you no concept of what it means to be gang raped. You seem to think it's something that you should get over. Starr doesn't need to be around that mindset right now. You may be her mother, but Todd and I are helping you through this. All you're going to do by going in there and shoving your mindset on her is make things worse for her. And that is something that I will not allow," Marty said firmly.

"You can't stop me from seeing my daughter," Blair said.

"I can and I will. I promised Starr that I would keep her safe. And that includes from you," Marty said. She would admit that she did feel for Blair. She knew Blair loved Starr, but she also knew that at this particular moment, Blair did not have Starr's best interests at heart.

Blair glared at her. "This isn't over."

Marty wordlessly turned around and went back into the house, locking the door behind her.


	12. Chapter 12

Marty opened Todd's front door and found Viki there. "Viki, hi."

"Hi. I heard," Viki said sadly. She'd found out about Starr from Natalie, who'd been told by John.

"Come on in," Marty said as she stepped aside to let Viki inside. She then closed the door behind her.

"How is Starr?" Viki asked.

"Not good. She's going through hell right now," Marty replied.

"Todd?"

"He's hanging in there. He's trying to stay strong for Starr's sake. He's actually doing a pretty good job at him," Marty told her.

Viki smiled at her. "Something tells me that's your influence." She knew her brother. He wanted to go after these men himself. If he wasn't, it was because Marty convinced him not to.

"No, all I did was tell Todd to focus on Starr. It was his decision to listen," Marty said.

"I hope he continues to. I know my brother. He's going to want blood," Viki said.

"He does. He's already made it very clear that if the police can't handle this, he will," Marty said. It really made her hope that the police could do their jobs for once because if they couldn't, Starr could end up losing her father, which was the last thing she needed right now..

"Is Todd here?" Viki asked.

"He is, but he's asleep. Neither Todd or Starr sleep very much, so when they do-"

"No, there's no reason to wake him up. I just wanted to see if there's anything I could do," Viki said.

"Right now there's nothing. We're supposed to go for a line-up later, so Starr can identify her rapists," she said.

"They found them?" Viki asked.

Marty nodded. "Yeah. John brought them in yesterday. Starr's supposed to identify them some time today."

A second later, Todd came downstairs. "Viki, what are you doing here?"

"I heard what happened. I'm so sorry, Todd," Viki said.

"How'd you find out?" Todd wondered.

"Natalie told me,"She replied.

"And she found out from McBain," Todd realized. "Why can't people just keep their mouths shut."

"Natalie was just trying to help, Todd," Viki said.

Todd sighed. "Starr just doesn't want a lot of people to know about this just yet.

"I can understand that," Viki said.

Todd turned to Marty. "Did they call about the line-up?"

"Not yet. Listen, I think that maybe I should go with Starr by myself when the time comes," Marty said. She was worried about what Todd would do if he got that close to the men who raped his daughter.

Todd nodded. "I think that's probably a good idea. Because if I go, I will kill them. There will be nothing left for Starr to identify."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

John walked into an interrogation room, where Jason Phillips was being held. He still hadn't done the line-up with Starr, but that was because he was hoping to get a confession. That way Starr wouldn't have to testify.

Jason looked at the picture. "Why am I here?"

"You know exactly why you're here. You were told why you were being arrested," John said.

"I didn't rape anybody," Jason lied.

"Yes, you did," John said before taking out a picture of Starr and putting it in front of the kid. "You raped this girl. Your DNA's all over her. So is your brother's."

"So what? We had sex with her. She wanted it. We were at a party. Is it really that hard to believe?" Jason asked.

"So that's how you want play it. Fine." He took out a picture of Todd manning and put it in front of him. "Do you know who this is?"

Jason glanced at the photo and instantly recognized him as someone he'd seen in the paper a lot. "Yeah, that's Todd Manning. He's in the paper a lot."

"This man is the father of the girl you and your raped. You gonna give him the same line of bull you just gave me?" John asked. He planned to thoroughly terrify this scumbag into confessing.

Jason's heart jumped. Todd Manning was a psycho. He was totally screwed. If Manning got his hands on him, he was a dead man. The guy would make an example out of him.

"You see that window over there?" John asked pointing to the one way mirror. "Todd Manning is on the other side of that door. He's looking at you right now. You know what I told him? I told him I'd give him five minutes alone with you," he lied. Todd wasn't anywhere near them. If he were, John was sure Jason Phillips would already be dead.

"Y...you can't do that," said a terrified Jason.

"You're right, I can't," John admitted. "But I can turn away. I can make it possible for him to slip in here real easy. No one will ever know that I allowed him to get in here I'll be killing two birds with one stone. You'll be dead, and Manning will be prison for the rest of his life. Or I can go with plan B. I can toss your ass out of here. Then every time you look over your shoulder, you'll wonder if Manning's going to be there. He will be there eventually. I can promise you that. He's already made several threats on your life.

Jason started to hyperventilate. "What do you want from me? I'll do anything, just keep that psycho away from me!"

"We're not going to put that innocent girl through a trial. You're going to tell me everything, and then you're going to go to prison. At least you'll be alive though," John said.

"Alright. I met that girl Starr at a party. A talked to her for a few minutes. Told her what I had to to get her talking. Then she asked if I had a phone. That was the perfect opportunity. I brought her up to my room, where my brother was waiting, and locked then locked the door. She figured it out then, but it was too late. I pushed her onto the bed and I got on top of her. I raped her. Then Rick did the same. When it was over, I told her she could she could go out through the kitchen. She got up real quick and left," Jason explained.

"Why Starr? Out of all the girls at that Party, why did you pick Starr Manning?" John asked. Something inside me just wouldn't believe that it was random.

"If I'd known her name, I never would've touched her," Jason said.

"But why this girl? There were a million at that party. Why did you pick her?" he asked.

Jason hesitated. He wondered if he should tell him about Hannah. He might be screwing himself even further if he told.

"You just confessed to gang rape. You're going to prison. Life as you know it is over. You've got nothing left to lose," John said.

"You know what? Why not? I don't owe that bitch anything," Jason said. If he had to go down for this, the least he could do was take her down with him.

"What are you talking about?" John asked. For some reason he didn't think Phillips was referring to Starr.

"It wasn't my idea to rape that girl. It' wasn't my brother's either," Jason said.

"Then whose was it?"

"She came to me a few months ago. She heard about my reputation with girls. She thought she might be able to pay me to do this. She was right," Jason said unapologetically.

"Who is she?" John asked.

"Hannah O'Connor."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Cole opened his front door and found Hannah there. "Hannah, come in."

Hannah smiled as she walked inside.

"So what are you doing here?" Cole wondered.

"I just wanted to see how things were going with Starr.

Cole sighed. "Not great. She'll barely let me near her. My mom says it's because she's scared of almost everyone. The only people she'll let near her are my mom and her dad."

"When's the last time you saw her," Hannah wondered.

"It's been a couple of days. I wanted to go see her today, but I have Hope and she shouldn't see her mother like this. Besides, she doesn't want to see anyone right now. I'm hoping things will get better after the trial."

"Trial?" Hannah asked. That made her a little nervous.

"Yeah, my mom called me last night and told me that the police picked up the creeps that raped Starr. There going down," Cole said.

Now she was a lot nervous. If Jason and Rick Phillips were in custody, she wouldn't be far behind. There was no way that they'd keep quiet about her part in this. They'd sell her out in a heartbeat. She needed to figure out a way to fix this.

"Hannah, are you okay?" Cole asked. She looked like she was worried about something.

"Oh, I'm fine," Hannah assured him. "Hey, if you still want to go see Hope, I'll stay here with Hope." She already had her next plan in mind.

"Are you sure?" Cole asked.

Hannah nodded.

"Great thanks," he said before grabbing his jacket. "I won't be gone long. Hope just went down for her nap, so she should sleep the whole time."

"We'll be fine. Go," she urged.

"Alright, I'll be back soon," Cole said before walking out the door.

"Sorry, Cole. But we won't be here when you get back," Hannah said out loud. If she couldn't have Cole, she was going to take a piece of him with her, in the form of his two year old daughter. That way a piece of him would always be with her.


	13. Chapter 13

Cole walked up to Todd's front door and knocked. It was opened by his mother. "Cole."

"Hi, Mom. How's Starr?" Cole asked.

"The same. It's going take time for her to heal," Marty told him.

"Can I see her?" he asked.

"You can see if she wants to see you, but if she tells you that she wants you to leave, that's what you're going to have to do. Got it?" Marty asked.

Cole nodded.

"Okay, come in," Marty said before stepping aside to let him in.

"Where is she?"

"She's upstairs. Go on up, but don't upset her," Marty warned.

"I won't," Cole promised before heading up the stairs. From there he walked down the hall to  
Starr's room. Her door was open, so he walked inside and found her sitting on her bed, starring into space. "Starr?"

Starr turned and saw Cole standing in the doorway. "Cole, hi."

"Are you okay?" Cole asked.

"I guess so. As okay as I can be anyway," Starr replied.

Cole nodded. "Is it okay that I'm here?"

"Yeah. I want you here. I'm sorry about last time. I just get upset sometimes when people get to close," Starr explained.

"It's okay. It's not your fault," he told her.

"How's Hope?" Starr asked. She'd been thinking about her little girl a lot. She missed her like crazy.

"She okay. She misses you," Cole said.

"I miss her too, but I don't want her to see me like this. I need a little more time," Starr said. She wanted to see her daughter, but she didn't think it was a good idea for Hope to see her in this current state.

"You take all the time you need. I've got everything under control for now," Cole assured her.

"Where is Hope by the way? Who's watching her?" Starr wondered.

"Your mom," Cole lied. He knew that Starr wouldn't be happy if she knew he'd left Hope with Hannah, and he didn't want to upset her. A little white lie wouldn't hurt anyone.

Starr nodded. "You can come closer."

It was then that Cole realized that he hadn't moved from the doorway. He slowly walked forward and sat down at the edge of Starr's bed.

Starr leaned forward into Cole's arms. She wanted to feel his arms around her.

Cole wrapped his arms around her and held her. Much to his relief, she didn't pull away. She allowed him to hold her. For the first time since everything happened, he felt close to her. If felt like things might turn out alright afterall.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Marty was in the living room looking at a picture of Starr and Hope. Starr looked happy in that picture. It really saddened her to know that that happiness had been taken from her.

Suddenly the doors opened and Todd came in. "Hey. Any word from John yet?"

Marty put the picture down. "No, not yet."

Todd sighed. He was getting sick of waiting. "What the hell is taking so long?"

"I'm sure he'll call as soon as he knows something," Marty said.

A second later, a knock on the door could be heard. Todd went to answer it, followed closely by Marty. When they got to the door, they found John on the other side. "Well, it's about time."

"Nice to see you too, Manning," John said before walking past him and into the house.

"I thought you were going to call about the lineup," Marty said.

"There isn't going to be a lineup," John told her.

"Why not?" Todd asked.

"I got confessions."

"How'd you pull that off?" Marty wondered. She was pretty sure it usually wasn't that easy to get confessions.

"I may have told them that I would've let Manning have a few minutes alone with them," John said.

"If you had done that, I would've killed them," Todd said.

"It was a lie, Manning. I wasn't going to let you anywhere near them," he said.

"So Starr doesn't have to go through a trial?" Marty asked. That was the best news she'd heard since all this had happened.

'Well, not for them," John said. Starr might still have to endure a trial with the O'Connor girl.

"What do you mean? Who else is there?" Marty asked.

"It seems that Rick and Jason Phillips weren't the only one's involved in this," John said.

"Starr told said there were only two of them," Todd said.

"There was a third party involved. These boys didn't pick Starr by accident. They were paid off," John explained.

At that moment, Cole walked downstairs. "John, hi. What are you doing here? Is it about Starr?"

"Cole, I'm glad you're here. When's the last time you saw your friend Hannah?" John asked. He'd checked Hannah's room at LU, but she wasn't there. He was hoping Cole would know where she was.

"Wait a second. Are you telling me that that lying bitch is responsible for all this?" Todd asked. If that were the case, he'd kill her himself. Rape itself was bad enough, but what kind of person arranged for people to do that.

Cole glared at Todd. "Hey, don't talk about her like that. Just because she told the police what you did, doesn't-"

"Cole, stop talking now," Marty ordered before turning to John. "Did Hannah do this?"

"Yes. Hannah arranged for Starr to be raped. Jason Phillips said that she wanted it to be similar to your rape. That's why she wanted it to be a gang rape. She wanted to cause as much damage as possible," John explained.

Cole shook his head in disbelief. "That's not true. Hannah would never do that. These guys are rapists. How do you know they're not lying?"

"They have no reason to lie, Cole. They weren't offered any deals. They confessed," John said. "Do you have any idea where she is?"

"I don't believe it. She wouldn't do this," Cole insisted.

"Cole, just tell him where she is!" Marty demanded.

"She's at my apartment," Cole finally answered.

"What? Why?" Marty asked her son. She couldn't understand why Hannah would be at her son's apartment without him unless... "Please tell you did not leave her there with Hope."

"She offered to watch her while I came to see Starr," Cole said.

"You idiot! What the hell is wrong with you?" Todd asked angrily.

"She didn't do anything. She would never do something like that," Cole said. Hannah couldn't have done that. If she had, that would mean that he'd become friends with someone who would hire people to rape his girlfriend. He refused to believe that.

Todd ignored him and turned to John. "We need to get to that house."

"Yeah, let's go," John said as he started out of the house.

"I'll come with you. You'll see that everything's alright," Cole said.

Marty grabbed her son the arm, forcing him to look at her. "You're not going anywhere. In the living room now," she ordered. She was furious. Her son had put his child in harms way. He'd left her with a girl he barely knew. That was beyond reckless.

"Mom, I-"

"Now!" she growled.

Cole practically ran into the other room.

Once her son was gone, Marty turned to Todd, who was about to leave with John. "Be careful. Bring her back."

"I will. Don't tell Starr about this."

"I won't, I promise. Just bring Hope back," she said.

Todd nodded before walking out the door.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Hannah walked downstairs with Hope. "You and I are going to go an adventure Hope. We're going to go somewhere far away. No one will ever find us. Are you ready? Let's go."

"Mommy," Hope cried.

"I'm gonna be your mommy now," Hannah said before walking out of the apartment with the little girl.


	14. Chapter 14

Marty walked into the living room and found her son on the couch with his phone pressed to his ear. "What are you doing?"

"I'm calling Hannah. I'm going to prove right now that this is just a huge misunderstanding," Cole said.

Marty grabbed the phone out of her son's hand and hung it up. The only thing Cole would accomplish by calling that girl was alerting her that they were onto her. That would be disastrous for Hope.

Cole jumped up angrily. "Mom, what the hell? Why did you do that?"

"You sit your ass back down and keep your mouth shut!" Marty ordered.

Cole did what he was told. He'd never seen his mother that angry before. She'd never once spoke to him like that.

Marty took a couple of deep breaths. She was beyond angry. She needed to calm down before she said something she regretted. "Cole, I am more angry with you than I have ever been. Believing this girl at first is one thing, but how could you allow a girl you barely knew to be alone with your child?"

"Hannah would never hurt Hope. I trust her," Cole said.

"And what exactly are you basing this trust on. How well do you even know this girl? Do you even know the first thing about her?" Marty asked. Her son's blind faith in this disturbed young woman was really bothering her.

"We have a class together. We're friends. She told me the truth about what Todd did," he said.

"Or she lied to your face. Did you ever consider that? Or do you just hate Todd so much that you're willing believe anything that a perfect stranger has to say.?" Marty asked.

"Are you saying you believe Todd now?" Cole asked in shock. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could his mother believe Todd Manning was innocent.

"I think this girl is obsessed with you. I think that she'd do anything to be with you, including lie about a man doing something he didn't, and arranging for a young woman to be raped. And now she has your child," Marty said.

"She wouldn't hurt Hope. She wouldn't do any of that," Cole insisted. They had to be wrong. They just had to be because if they weren't, then he was responsible for all of this.

Marty rolled her eyes. "Sooner or later, you're going to have to come out of this denial. Your child's life may depend on it."

Just then, the ringing of a phone could be heard. It was Marty's. She picked it up on the first ring. "Hello."

"_It's me," _said the voice on the other end.

"Todd, Please tell me you found them," Marty begged. She was really scared for her granddaughter right now.

"_I wish I could. We're at the apartment now, but Hannah and Hope aren't here," _Todd said.

"Oh God."

"_We're going to Hannah's dorm room next. She wasn't there when the police went to arrest her, but McBain thinks she might have left something behind," _Todd said.

"Alright, keep me posted. Bye," Marty said before hanging up the phone.

"What's going on?" Cole asked.

Marty turned back to her son. "Hannah and Hope aren't at the apartment."

"What?" Cole asked. Now he was starting to get worried. Hannah had no reason to leave the apartment. She was supposed to stay there until he got back.

"They're gone."

"No. No, they can't be," Cole said.

"Wake up, Cole! She took your child. Now you need to stop living in denial so that we can find them," Marty said. She need to pull him out of this. It was the only way they had even a prayer of finding Hope.

"Why would she do this? Why would she do any of this?" Cole asked. There was no use in denying it any longer. Hannah had taken his little girl. Why would she do that if she were innocent.

"Because she's an extremely disturbed young woman," she replied.

"I don't think I led her on though," Cole said. As hard as he tried, he couldn't think of a single time that he'd treated Hannah as anything but a friend.

Marty's face softened at the pain she saw in her son's eyes. "You wouldn't have to. A girl like that would take the slightest bit of kindness as a hint that you wanted her."

"This is all my fault," Cole said guiltily. Everything that Hannah had done was on him. She'd had Starr raped because of him. He let her take his child.

Marty sat down next to her son. "Listen to me. You shouldn't have left Hope alone with Hannah. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that was okay. But you aren't responsible for what happened to Starr. You had no way of knowing Hannah would do something like that.

"My daughter's missing because of me," Cole said.

Marty didn't say a word. She wished she could absolve him of any responsibility, but she couldn't. Cole left his child with a girl he didn't even know that well. That was beyond reckless and she couldn't tell him it wasn't.

"What do you mean Hope's missing?" came Starr's voice.


	15. Chapter 15

Marty stared at Starr in shock. She really wished Starr hadn't heard that Hope was missing. She'd been hoping that Hope would be found before Starr found out what happened. The poor girl had enough to deal with without also having to wonder where her child was.

"Will someone answer me? What were you guys talking about? What did you mean when you said Hope was missing?" Starr asked desperately. Hope couldn't be missing. She could not survive something happening to her little girl.

Marty immediately got up and approached Starr. "Starr, it's going to be okay."

"How? I heard what Cole said. He said Hope was missing," Starr said. She was really starting to flip out. No one was answering her questions. That told her that something was seriously wrong. "Where is she, Cole? You told me you left her with my mom."

Cole looked down in shame. He knew he'd screwed up big time. He'd left his daughter with an unstable woman, and lied to Starr about it. That should've been his first clue that it was a mistake. He should've known that if he had to lie to Starr about leaving Hope with Hannh, that it was a mistake to do it. He just prayed that Hope didn't end up paying for his mistake.

"Answer me!" Starr screamed.

Cole picked up his head and barely met her gaze. "I lied to you. I didn't leave Hope with your mom. I left her with Hannah."

"You what? Why would you do that? Why would you leave our daughter with someone I hate?" Starr asked.

"She came to see me. She wanted to see how I was. I told her how much I wanted to see you, and she offered to stay with Hope while I came to see you," Cole explained.

"You still haven't explained how it is that Hope is missing. Where is she?" Starr asked again. She hated that Cole left there daughter with someone she hated, and that he lied about it, but right now all she cared about was Hope.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know," Cole said crying. He hated himself for believing Hannah. He couldn't help but think that if he hadn't listened to Hannah about Todd, then maybe Starr wouldn't have gotten raped.

"Know what? What is going on?" she asked exasperatedly.

Marty put her hands on Starr's shoulders. "Honey, it turns out that Hannah is responsible for your rape."

"What? What are you talking about?" Starr asked confused. She didn't understand how Hannah could be responsible for what happened to her. Hannah wasn't even there that night.

"She paid those boys to rape you. She wanted to drive a wedge between you and Cole. I guess she thought if you went through something like this, you end up pushing Cole into her arms," Marty explained.

"Hannah set me up to be raped?" Starr asked unbelievably. She couldn't even wrap her head around it. It seemed insane to her. "That... that's so twisted. It's crazy."

"Yes it is. Hannah is a very twisted young woman," Marty said.

Starr's eyes widened. She'd remembered Hope. "And she has my baby. Where are they?"

"We don't know, sweetie. Hannah was supposed to stay with Hope at the apartment, but when John and your father went over there, both Hannah and Hope were gone," Marty explained.

Starr started to panic. Her daughter was God knows where with a woman that organized a rape. "Oh God." She then started running from the room and towards the front door.

Marty ran after Starr and grabbed her before she reached the door. "Starr, no!"

"Let me go! I have to find Hope!" Starr yelled.

Marty pulled Start closer towards her and turned her around so they were facing each other. "Look at me! I know you're scared, but you cannot just go running out of here."

"I have to. I have find my baby," Starr cried.

"Listen to me, sweetie. We are going to find Hope. Your father and John McBain are out there looking for her right now. They are not going to give up until they find her," Marty assured her. She just hoped that what she was saying was true. She prayed Hope was found and brought home safe and sound.

"I have to go. I have to help," Starr said.

"No, you need to stay here with me. I know you're worried about Hope, but you're not going to do any good by going out there by yourself," Marty explained.

"So what am I supposed to do? Just sit here and do nothing?" Starr asked.

"Starr, I'm so sorry," Cole said as he approached them.

"You should be!" Starr yelled at him. "How could you leave her alone with that psychotic bitch?"

"I'm sorry," he repeated. He didn't know what else to say. Starr was right. This was all his fault.

"Stop saying that! Your apologies aren't going to fix everything!" she yelled. "They're not going to bring my baby back."

"Okay, come with me," Marty said as she directed Starr towards the stairs.

"Where are we going?" Starr asked.

"Upstairs," Marty replied.

"No, I can't sleep," Starr said. There was no way she could possibly sleep now. Not with her little girl out there somewhere.

"I know, honey, but fighting with Cole isn't going to help either. I just want you to come upstairs with me. You can rest for a little while, or we can talk if you want. Okay, come on," Marty said as she once again led Starr towards the stairs.

Cole watched as his mother and Starr left the room. He felt like a complete failure, both as a boyfriend, and as a father. He brought Hannah into their lives. Everything she did was his fault. He wouldn't blame Starr if she never forgave him.

Cole walked towards the front door. He had to go look for Hope. He knew his mother told him to stay there, but he couldn't. Hope was his child, and it was his fault she was gone. He had to get her back. He had to stop Hannah before Hope paid the price.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

John and Todd walked into Hannah's dorm room. "It doesn't look like she's here, John."

"Yeah, but maybe she left something behind. Something that'll tell us where she might go," John said.

Todd went over to the bed and sat down. He then opened the drawer to the nightstand. In it, he found a bunch of pictures of Cole. "Hey, John, come take a look at this."

John walked over and saw what Todd was looking at. "Good God. She was stalking him."

"There are look fifty pictures here," Todd said.

John nodded. "They all look like they were taken without his knowledge too."

"And now she has my granddaughter," Todd said. He was really worried about Hope. The last time he'd come across someone this crazy was when Margaret was after him. If Hannah was anything like Margaret, he really feared for Hope's life.

"We'll find them, Manning. In fact, I think I've already got a lead," John said as he held up a piece of mail. It has a different address on it. It looks like Hannah is receiving her mail from somewhere else," John said.

"Let's go then," Todd said as he got up and led the way out of the room.


	16. Chapter 16

John and Todd got out of John's car right outside of Hannah's parents' home. Todd looked up surveyed the house. After a few seconds he saw a shadow from what he assumed was the attic. "They're up there," he said before he started towards the door.

John grabbed him and pulled him back. "Manning, wait."

"What do you mean wait? My granddaughter is in that house," Todd said. He didn't want to wait. He wanted to get Hope out of there.

"I know that, but we don't know how far off the deep end Hannah has gone. For all we know, she could be armed. If you rush in there now, there's no telling what could happen," John explained.

So what do we do, just sit here?" Todd asked. That wasn't an option. He wasn't going to just sit by while some crazy woman held his granddaughter hostage.

John took out his phone and started dialing. "I'm calling for backup."

While John spoke to his colleagues, Todd looked around. When he did, he saw Cole heading towards the back door. "Cole, no!" he yelled before going after the kid. Cole would just make things worse if he went in there.

"Manning, what are you doing!" John yelled before running after the two.

Todd followed Cole up two flights of stairs and into the attic. John was close behind. When they got there, they found Hannah there with Hope in one hand and a gun in the other.

"Look, Hope. Daddy's here," Hannah said smiling.

"Hannah, what are you doing? Put the gun down," Cole said as calmly as possible. He was beyond scared. The lunatic that was obsessed with him had a gun way too close to his little girl.

"I can't do that. You see, all these people want to keep us apart. I can't let them do that," Hannah said.

"Hannah, why are you doing this?" Cole asked.

"Because I love you," she said simply.

"So you kidnapped my daughter? How does that make sense?" Cole asked.

"I needed to take a piece of you with me. I knew that once you found out the truth about what happened to Starr that she would brainwash you into thinking I was a horrible person, so I decided to take the next best thing. Your little girl," Hannah explained.

"Why did you do it, Hannah? Why would you arrange for Starr to be raped?" Cole asked desperately. He needed to understand why. Starr never did anything to anybody. She didn't deserve this.

"For the same reason I did everything else. To prove to you how horrible Starr is," Hannah explained.

Cole looked at her. "What do you mean 'everything else?' What else did you do?"

"I had to do it, Cole. You had to see that Starr would never put you first. And I was right. Starr chose him over you," Hannah said, pointing to Todd with the gun.

A horrifying realization reached Cole's face. Hannah did more than just lie about his mother's attack. "Oh my God. You pushed my mom. You killed her baby."

"I had to. Don't you understand. I had to prove to you that Starr would always choose her Dad over you. Besides, your mom deserved it. You should've heard the way she talked to me the other day. She called my a liar. Not to mention the way she's treated you. She chose Starr over you, her own son," Hannah reminded him.

"You crazy bitch. You killed a baby and destroyed my daughter's life just so you could get into a guy's pants?" Todd asked in disbelief.

"Shut up!" Hannah demanded as she pointed her gun at Todd.

"Hannah, please stop," Cole begged. "Please, just let Hope go."

"Why? You're here now. We can leave together and be a family," Hannah said.

Cole couldn't believe his ears. How could Hannah possibly think he'd be with her after the things she'd done to Starr and his mother. She'd really gone off the deep end if she thought would ever happen.

"Hannah, Please don't do this," Cole pleaded.

"I'm not doing anything. I'm just trying to make us a family. You know I'll better for you and Hope than Starr could ever be. Hell, she abandoned you and Hope. She pushed you away and hasn't seen Hope in days," Hannah said.

"Because you had her raped," Cole reminded her.

"I did that for you. Everything was for you," she insisted.

Cole's first instinct was to start screaming at her. He hated Hannah for hurting Starr and his mother. He had take a step back though. If he said the wrong thing, Hope might end up getting hurt. He couldn't let that happen. "Look, just let Hope go. We can figure this out together."

Hannah smiled. "Together. I like the sound of that.

Cole felt a glimmer of hope. It could work with this. He might just be able to trick Hannah into letting Hope go. "Okay. Then give me Hope, and then we can figure things out."

"What's to figure out? The three of us can be a family," Hannah said.

"Okay. We can do that," Cole said. He hated himself for even saying it, but he needed to say the right thing to get her to give him his daughter. "Can I just hold her please? I've missed her."

Hannah laughed. "It's only been a couple hours."

"I know, but I haven't had that long with her. I was in jail for so long. I've only just started to reconnect with my little girl.

"_Our_ little girl," she corrected.

Cole cringed. "Our little girl."

Hannah smiled. "I like the sound of that."

"Me too," Cole lied. "So can I please hold."

"I don't know. What if they try to take her," Hannah asked, referring to John and Todd.

"They won't," he assured her.

"Lieutenant McBain has to put his gun down first," Hannah said.

Cole looked at John with pleading eyes.

John was very reluctant. If he gave up his weapon, he was giving this unstable girl all the power. On the other hand, if he didn't, the baby could end up getting hurt. "Alright, I'm going to put it on the ground." He then showed her the gun and slowly placed it on the ground before standing up again.

"Kick it across the room," Hannah demanded.

John did what he was told and kicked the weapon to the other side of the room.

Hannah walked a few feet towards Cole and held Hope out for him.

Cole carefully took his little girl into his arms and held her close. "Hey, sweetie. Daddy's here now. I'm so sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" Hannah asked.

"Oh, I'm just sorry that I left her to be with Starr," Cole lied.

"Well, you're with her now," Hannah said.

"Yeah. Listen, I think she's hungry. I should get her something to eat," Cole lied. He needed to get Hope out of that room as quickly as possible.

"Oh, there's plenty of food in the kitchen," Hannah said helpfully.

"Okay. I-I'm gonna go feed her."

"Hurry back," Hannah said.

Cole walked with Hope towards the exit.

"Backup should be here by now. Tell whoever is out there what's going on," John whispered.

Cole nodded and left the room as quickly as he could without alerting Hannah.

"You crazy little bitch! You're going to pay for this," Todd said as soon as Cole left. He'd held his tongue as much as he could while Hope was in the room, but now that she was safe, all bets were off. This woman had destroyed the lives of the people he cared about. He was going to make her pay for that.

"Manning," John warned.

Hannah laughed. "I'm getting lectured by the town rapist?"

"Look who's talking. You're a rapist now too. In fact, you're worse. What you did to my daughter is worse than what I did to Marty," Todd said. He had no delusions about how horrible what he did was, but in his opinion hiring rapists was worse.

"I didn't rape anybody."

"According to the law, you did. The charge for arranging a gang rape is the same as if you'd committed the actually act of rape yourself," John explained.

Soon Cole came back into the room.

"Cole, what are you doing back here? You were supposed to stay outside," John said.

"I couldn't," Cole told him.

"Cole, where's our little girl. Why isn't she with you?" Hannah asked.

Cole gave her the biggest glare he could muster. "MY daughter is safe from you."

"What are you talking about?"

"How could you ever think I could be with you. Especially after everything you did. You had Starr raped by two freaks. You killed my mother's baby. My little brother or sister," Cole said angrily.

Hannah started to get upset. Cole said he'd understood what she did. He had to understand. He just had to. "I told you why I did that. You said you understood. You said you wanted us to be together."

"I said what I had to say to get my daughter away from you. I wasn't going to let you hurt her," Cole said.

"You tricked me," Hannah finally realized.

"It wasn't that difficult. You're a lunatic!" Cole yelled.

"Cole stop," Todd said. The kid was going to get himself killed if he kept going. Calling a crazy person out on being crazy was never a good thing.

Cole couldn't stop though. He was too angry. "Did you really think that I'd ever be with you? I hate you. I hate what you've done to my family. Starr is one I love. She, Hope, and I are a family. We're going to get through this. We are going to get past what you did to us, and we're going to forget you ever existed!"

"You bastard! You're going to pay for this!" Hannah screamed before raising her gun.

Todd ran forward as he saw Hannah raise his gun. He didn't know why he did it. Maybe it was combination of his love for Starr, Hope, and Marty, but he couldn't let Hannah kill Cole.

Meanwhile, John dove for his gun and aimed it at Hannah. Soon, two shots could be heard going through the house.


	17. Chapter 17

Hannah fall to the ground and screamed in out in pain. John had shot her in the leg. "You bastard! You shot me!"

John rushed forward and moved the gun she'd dropped as far away from her has he could get it, and then handcuffed one of her hands to a nearby dresser. "You're lucky it's only your leg that I shot you in." He then turned to Cole, who was picking himself up off the ground. "Cole, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Cole said. Then his face got serious as he looked his right. "But he's not."

John looked to where Cole was looking, and saw Todd on the floor bleeding from the chest. If he was alive, he was unconscious. Both men went to his side. John checked his pulse. He found a faint one. "He's alive, but just barely," John said before taking off his jacket and pressing it down on Todd's wound. "Cole, I need you to hold this and press it really hard on his wound. We need to stop the bleeding.

Cole didn't hear him though. He was too busy trying to process what had just happened. Todd Manning had just saved his life. He pulled him out of the way and took the bullet that was meant for him. Why would he do that? Todd Manning hated him. He told him every chance he got.

"Cole, snap out of it!" John demanded. He needed to get the kid's attention.

John's yelling finally brought Cole back to reality. "What?"

"I need you to grab this and hold it down firmly while I get help," John said. At that moment, his phone started ringing. "Okay, that's probably Bo. I need you to do this, Cole.

Cole nodded and placed his hand where John wanted to. He pressed down on Todd's wound as hard as he could. He couldn't let the man die. Not when the only reason Todd was in that position was because he was trying to save him.

John, meanwhile, pulled out his phone and answered it. "McBain."

"_John, it's Bo. Is everything alright in there? We heard shots," _Bo said.

"Bo, we need an ambulance," he said.

"_What happened? Were you hit?"_ Bo asked.

"No. Manning was. He's got a bullet wound to the chest, and I shot Hannah O'Connor in the leg," John explained.

"_So Hannah's unarmed now?"_

"Yeah, she's subdued," John replied.

"_Alright, I'm coming in with EMT's now," _Bo said before hanging up.

A seconds later Bo rushed in with two medics. "We've got it from here, son," one of the medics said before pushing him out of the way.

Cole got up and went over to John and Bo. "What happened here?" Bo asked.

"It was my fault," Cole said.

"Cole, it was not your fault. You didn't pull the trigger," John told him.

"But if I hadn't provoked her, this wouldn't have happened," Cole said before turning his attention to Todd, who was being treated by the paramedics. "He warned me. He tried to tell me to stop, but I didn't. I just kept on going."

"She kidnapped your kid. You were angry," John said.

"It doesn't matter. I should've stepped back. My mom's always telling me to think before I act, but once again, I didn't do it. And now, it might cost a man his life," Cole said.

John was about to argue when he saw that the EMT's were getting ready to transport Todd. "How's he doing?"

"Well, I'm no doctor, but it's not good," one of the medics said. He appears to be losing a lot of blood. We need to get him to the hospital now." They then wheeled him out on a stretcher.

"Hey, what about me?" Hannah called after them, but she was ignored by everyone.

John turned to Cole. "Alright, you take Hope back to Manning's and tell your mom what happened. "I'll call with any news."

"No. I'm going with you to the hospital," Cole said with determination.

"Cole-"

"I have to go, John," Cole interrupted. "He saved my life. He took a bullet that was meant for me. The least I can do is go and make sure he's going to be alright."

"Alright, you go with John. I'll make sure Hope gets to Manning's," Bo said.

"Hope's okay, right?" Cole asked.

"She's fine. She's with Brody. He'll get her home," Bo assured him.

Cole looked at Hannah and glared. "What about her?"

"She will pay for what she's done. I promise you," Bo said.

Cole kept staring at her. He couldn't believe how blind he'd been. He trusted her. A woman that killed his mother's baby, had his girlfriend raped, kidnapped his daughter, and now might be responsible for a man's death. He felt like such a fool.

"Cole, come on. Let's go," John said.

Cole glared at Hannah for a minute longer before following John out the door.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Marty walked down the stairs of Todd's house. She'd just left Starr, who remarkably, was able to fall asleep. She guessed that the fact that Starr hadn't slept much in days. She doubted the young woman would sleep long though. No mother could sleep long when her child's life was in danger.

Marty went into the living to talk to her son. She was shocked to find that Cole wasn't there. "Cole," she called out. There was no answer.

Before she was able to contemplate where her son had gone off to, she heard the doorbell ring. She immediately rushed out of the room and over to the door. When she opened it, she found Brody there with her granddaughter. "Oh thank God," she said before taking the child into her arms. "She's okay, right?"

Brody nodded. "She's fine. Paramedics checked her out and gave her a clean bill of health."

"Thank God," Marty said as she held the child close. "Hey sweetie. You're safe now."

"Marty?" came Starr's voice, followed by the sounds of someone walking down the stairs.

"Down here sweetie," Marty said.

Starr walked downstairs. When she saw Hope she practically ran to her. "Hope!"

"Mommy," Hope said.

Starr grabbed Hope out of Marty's arms and held her tightly. "It's okay, baby. Mommy's here now.

"She's fine, Starr," Brody assured her.

"Thank God," Starr said as continued to hold her baby. The fear she felt when Hope was missing was the worst thing she'd ever felt, which after being raped, was truly saying something.

"I told you we'd get her back," Marty said smiling.

"Where's Cole?" Starr asked. She felt kind of guilty for the way she'd yelled at her boyfriend. It hadn't really been his fault. No, he shouldn't have left Hope with Hannah, but he didn't know how crazy she was.

Marty was about to answer when she saw the look on Brody's face. Something was seriously wrong. "Brody, what's going on? Did Cole get involved with the situation with Hannah?"

"Yes, he did, but he's fine," Brody assured her.

"Well, where is he? Where's my son?" Marty asked. She was getting worried. Brody said Cole was okay, but his demeanor screamed that something wasn't right.

"He's at the hospital," he answered.

Both Marty and Starr got visibly upset. "What? What happened?" asked Starr.

"He's okay," Brody said, trying to elude their fears.

"Well, was he hurt?" asked a scared Marty.

"No. He doesn't have a scratch on him."

"Then why is he at the hospital?" Marty asked.

Brody sighed. He hated giving news like this. "Okay, I don't know the whole story, but things got very bad with Hannah. Once she realized that Cole was never going to love her, she flipped out."

"Just say it, Brody!" Marty demanded. She was sick of him beating around the bush. She needed to know what happened.

"Todd was shot," Brody finally said.

"Oh my God, no!" cried Starr. This couldn't be happening. She couldn't be losing her father.

"How bad?" asked Marty.

"I'm not sure. He's been taken to Llanview hospital," Brody said.

"Okay, he's been taken to the hospital. That means he's alive," Marty said. She wasn't sure if she was trying to reassure Starr or herself.

"Yeah, he's alive, but he didn't look good," Brody said. He didn't want to scare them, but he also wanted to make sure they were prepared for the worst.

"Oh God. I have to go to the hospital," Starr said as she started towards the door with Hope.

Marty grabbed Starr by the arm and pulled her back. "Sweetie, listen to me. I know you're scared for your dad, but right now you need to stay here with Hope."

"No, I have to know that he's okay," Starr said

"I will go to the hospital and check on him, okay? You stay here, and I will call you the second I know what's going on," Marty promised. She knew that Starr wanted to be with Todd, but right now Hope needed her.

"You promise?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Tell him that I love him," Starr said. She wanted to go herself, bur realistically, she knew Marty was right. She needed to stay there with Hope.

"I will," Marty said before turning to Brody. "Will you stay with them?" She didn't want Starr to be alone. Starr had been through hell these last few days. She didn't need to be alone right now.

"Of course," Brody said.

"Thanks," Marty said before rushing out the door.


	18. Chapter 18

Marty rushed through the hospital and found Cole sitting in a chair in the waiting room. "Cole."

Cole turned and saw his mother. He got up and greeted her with a hug.

"Are you alright?" Marty said after releasing her son.

"Yeah. I'm not the one you have to worry about," said Cole.

"What happened?" Marty asked as she gently pushed her son into a chair, and then sat down herself.

Cole looked down guiltily. "I shouldn't have gone back in."

"Cole, what are you talking about?" Marty asked. Her son wasn't making any sense.

Cole looked his mother in the eye. "It was my fault that Todd got shot. I was able to trick Hannah into giving me Hope. I got her out of there. I should've stayed outside like John wanted me to, but I couldn't. I was so angry. I needed Hannah to know exactly what I thought of her. I couldn't stay out there and do nothing. After everything Hannah did to you and to Starr, I needed her to know how much I hated her.

"What do you mean? What did she do to me?" asked a confused Marty.

Cole hesitated. He wasn't sure if he should tell his mother about how far Hannah had gone right now. She had enough going on. On the other had though, it wasn't right for him to keep it from her either. "Mom, Hannah pushed you down the stairs."

Marty turned away for a minute. She wasn't sure how she felt about this. She thought that knowing who killed her child, and knowing that they would pay would bring her piece, but it didn't. At the end of the day, her baby was still gone. Nothing would make that go away.

"I'm sorry, Mom," Cole said. He felt really guilty. He was the reason Hannah had gone after his mother. She'd done it to get him.

Marty turned to her son. "Cole, it's not your fault. Neither is Todd getting shot.

"You're wrong about that. Maybe what happened to you wasn't really my fault, but what happened to Todd was," he told her.

"Why do you think that?" Marty asked. She couldn't think of one reason why Cole would think he was responsible for Todd's shooting.

"Because I provoked Hannah. I told her how much I hated her, and how Starr and I would make it past everything. Todd told me to stop, that I shouldn't provoke her, but I couldn't hear him. I was too angry," Cole explained. "Hannah got really mad. She pointed her gun at me. She was going to shoot me. Todd stopped her. He stopped her from shooting me by taking the bullet that was meant for me. He saved my life.

Marty found herself absolutely shocked. Todd had risked his life to save her son? That was unbelievable. She knew how Todd felt about her son. The thought that he would take a bullet for Cole was truly shocking.

Cole suddenly stood up. "Mom, the doctor."

Marty turned and recognized on of her colleagues coming forward. It was a middle-aged man with light brown hair and blue eyes. Marty stood up and approached the man. "Doctor Morgan, hi. Can you tell us how Todd Manning is doing?"

"You know I'm only supposed to talk to family," Doctor Morgan reminded her.

Marty sighed. "Look, I'm living at his house, and I'm helping him with his daughter. We have family in common. Please, just tell me what's going on. I promise, he's not going to sue you for talking to me.

"Well, alright," he finally agreed. "Mr. Manning was shot once in the upper chest. Now the good thing is, it missed his heart.

Marty breathed a sigh of relief. It hardly meant they were out of the woods, but the fact that it missed his heart was a good thing.

"He has lost a lot of blood though, and he's bleeding internally," the doctor said.

"Okay, so you need to get him into the OR," Marty summed up.

"Yes, but we need to get him stabilized first. Right now he's no where near the point where we can operate," Doctor Morgan said.

Marty sighed. That didn't sound good. If Todd was bleeding internally, every minute counted. If they didn't get him stabilized, he wouldn't make it. "How long do you think it'll be."

Doctor Morgan gave her a look. "You should know better than anyone that there is no way to know that.

Marty nodded. She did know that. She might not be a medical doctor, but she knew enough to know that getting a gunshot victim stabilized was not an exact science. It was very difficult. "Can I see him?"

"Of course. Just make it brief," the doctor said. "He's in trauma one."

"Thank you," Marty said before turning to Cole. "I'll be right back, alright?" Marty said.

Cole nodded.

Marty then went over to where the patients were being treated, and pulled back the curtains to one of the cubicles. What she saw sent her reeling. Todd didn't look good at all. He was laying in bed unconscious. His shirt was off and his wound was bandaged. He also had an oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth.

Marty went over and sat down on a stool next to Todd's bed. She grabbed his hand and looked at him. "You never cease to amaze me, you know that? Just when I think there's nothing else you can say or do to surprise me, you get in between my son and a speeding bullet. You'll never know how grateful I am for that. I know how you feel about Cole. Yet you still risked your life to save his. I won't ever forget that," Marty said fiercely. She would owe Todd for the rest of her life for what he did. There was no way she'd have been able to survive without Cole. He saved two lives when he put himself in front of that bullet. "Here's the thing though, Todd. I can't thank you properly until you get through this. You have to get through this. For Starr, for your other children,... for me," she said. She hadn't wanted to admit it, but she needed him too. He was important to her life. She couldn't deny that any longer. "I don't want you to die, Todd. If there's anything that this whole thing with Starr has taught me, it's that I care about you. I don't want to, but I do."

Suddenly, Marty felt Todd's hand move in her own. She looked over at his face and saw his eyes open slightly. "Hey."

"I...I, " Todd started to speak.

"No, don't try to talk. You need to save your strength.

"I...I lo...love you," Todd croaked.

Marty barely had time to process the declaration before the doctor and a nurse came in. "How are we doing?" Doctor Morgan asked before looking at the monitor. "Well, it looks like you're stabilizing Mr. Manning."

"So you're taking him for surgery?" Marty asked.

The doctor nodded. "We're going to start prepping him now. You're going to have to leave the room."

Marty nodded before turning to Todd. "I'll be right outside." She then let go of his hand and left the room


	19. Chapter 19

Cole walking in the front door of Todd's house. His mother told him that he should go there to be with Starr and Hope instead of waiting for news on Todd's condition. He walked into the living room and found Starr and Hope sitting on the couch, while Brody sat in a nearby armchair.

Starr immediately stood up with Hope and ran into Cole's arms. She really needed him right now. After everything that had been happening lately, she needed to feel Cole's arms around her.

Brody stood up and approached them. "You guys good here?" Brody asked.

Cole nodded and went back to holding his girlfriend and daughter. He soon heard the front door close, indicating that Brody had left.

After a minute, Starr released Cole. "Is my dad okay?"

"He's in surgery," Cole said before leading her back to the couch, where they all sat down.

"Surgery?" Starr asked scared. She knew that couldn't be a good sign.

"There was a lot of internal bleeding. They had to go in and fix it," Cole told her.

"Oh God," Starr said.

"Starr, I'm sorry," he said.

"For what?"

"Your dad got shot because of me. Hannah was aiming her gun at me. Your dad pulled me out of the way and took the bullet," Cole explained. He knew that Starr might hate him forever, but she needed to know the truth.

"My dad sacrificed himself for you?" Starr asked in shock. She couldn't believe it. Her father hated Cole. Why would he risk his life to save someone he hated?

"I'm sorry," Cole said.

"Cole, I don't blame you. You didn't shoot my dad. And the truth is, I couldn't deal with your death anymore than I could my father's. I love you, Cole," Starr said. There was a lot that she wasn't sure of now, but her love for Cole was one of the few constants she had right now. "Listen, I know things have been pretty bad lately, and I won't delude you or myself that that's going to stop anytime soon, but I don't want to lose you.

Cole put his arms around her. "You're not going to lose me. Never."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Marty sat in a chair in the emergency room. She'd sent Cole to Todd's earlier to be with Starr and Hope. She kept thinking about the last thing Todd said to her. He told her he loved her. Marty had to wonder if he'd even been talking to her. Sure, she'd been the only one in the room, but maybe Todd was hallucinating. Maybe he thought he'd been talking to Tea. She wasn't sure. She also wasn't sure if she wanted him to have been talking about her.

"Marty,"

Marty turned to her right and saw John standing there. "John."

John walked over and sat across from Marty. "How's Manning?"

"He's in surgery. They don't know what'll happen yet," Marty answered.

"You care about him, don't you?" John asked.

"So what's happening with Hannah?" Marty asked, completely ignoring John's question.

"She's here in the hospital. I shot her in the leg. After she's released, she'll go to St. Ann's for an evaluation," John explained.

Marty groaned. "Please tell me that this girl is not going to end up in a padded room. She belongs in prison.

"Marty, you of all people know it's not that easy. If Hannah is incompetent-"

"You know what? I don't care!" Marty interrupted. "I don't care how crazy she is. She killed our baby. She orchestrated the rape of young woman and kidnapped her baby. She may just cost four children their father. She should spend the rest of her life in a jail cell."

"Do Blair and Tea know about Manning?" John wondered.

"I called them, but neither one of them picked up the phone," Marty replied. As much as she disliked both Blair and Tea, they were the mothers of Todd's children. They deserved to know that he might die.

"So what are the chances that Manning's going to live?" John asked.

Marty looked up at him. "Why do you care. Why are you even here, John? You don't care about Todd."

"No, I don't, and I honestly don't care why anyone else does, but what he did today was truly heroic. He saved Cole's life. He doesn't deserve to die for that," John said. He hated Todd Manning, but even he couldn't deny that what the man did was amazing.

"Doctor Saybrooke?"

Marty turned and saw Doctor Morgan. She immediately stood up and approached him. "How is he?"

"He came through surgery very well," Doctor Morgan said.

Marty breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God. So he's going to make it?"

"Well, we never with gunshot wounds, as you know, but barring any complications in the next twenty-four hours, I think he'll be fine," the doctor said.

"Can I see him?" she asked.

"In a little while. We're getting him into a room right now."

"Okay, thanks," Marty said.

The doctor nodded before leaving.


	20. Chapter 20

Todd opened his eyes and saw Marty by his bedside.

"Hey," Marty said.

"Hey," Todd greeted back.

"Do you remember what happened?" Marty asked.

"Yeah, that crazy bitch shot me," Todd said. It was a blur, but he did remember taking the bullet. "Is Hope okay?"

"She's fine. I saw her myself," Marty assured him.

"And Cole?" he asked. He couldn't remember if Cole had gotten hurt or not.

"Thanks to you, Cole is just fine. You saved his life. I won't ever forget that," Marty promised.

"It was nothing," Todd said modestly.

"You jumped in front of a bullet to save my son. That is not nothing. I'll never be able to repay you for it," she said.

"You don't owe me anything, Marty. You never could," Todd said. He knew that no matter what he did for Marty or her son, they would never be even, let alone her owing him.

"Todd, there's something we need to talk about," Marty said. She didn't really want to talk about what Todd said to her, but she felt they had to.

"What?"

"Right before you went in for surgery, you woke up. Todd, you told me that you loved me. Did you know who you were talking to. Did you think you were talking to Tea?" Marty asked.

Todd hesitated. He vaguely remembered saying that, and the truth was, he knew exactly who he'd been talking to. He wasn't sure he should tell her though. He knew she didn't feel the same way about him. At the same time though, he was more afraid not to tell her. "You know, it's amazing how things change when you come inches away from death. It makes you realize that you have to be honest, even when it's something people don't want to hear. I knew who I was talking to. And I meant what I said. I love you, Marty."

Marty sighed. Now it was out there. She couldn't pretend he was talking about Tea anymore. She couldn't delude herself into thinking that Todd felt nothing for her except for guilt, and gratitude for helping with Starr. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything, Marty. I don't expect anything from you. That's not why I told you. I told you because I nearly died. It made me realize that life is short. Marty, I don't want to die without you knowing how I feel about you," Todd explained.

"You know, I always assumed that your supposed love for me was all in your head. Something you needed to tell yourself to let you keep lying to me," Marty said.

"No. That was the one thing that was true. And as much as I've tried, I can't seem to stop loving you," he said.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Marty asked.

"Because it wouldn't have mattered. The only reason I even told you at all is because I thought I was going to die. And I only admitted it now because all of this started with a lie. I lied to you, and it nearly destroyed us both. I will never lie to you again," Todd promised.

"Well, since we're being honest with each other, I guess it's my turn," Marty said. She didn't really even want to think about her feelings for Todd, but he'd been completely honest with her. The least she could do was show him the same courtesy. "I did love you. I can't deny that. Even after I found out who you really were, I couldn't just turn that love off. That's why I tried to kill you. I thought that if you died, I could get rid of all the feelings I had for you as well."

"I'm sorry," Todd said remorsefully. He really regretted lying to Marty for all that time. He didn't regret that he fell in love with her, but he did regret the pain he caused.

"I'm sorry too," she said.

"For what?" Todd asked confused. Marty hadn't done anything wrong.

"For talking you off that roof. No matter what you did to me, I had no right to try to get you to commit suicide," Marty said. That had truly been the worst thing she'd ever done.

"No, that was my fault. I lied to you for months," Todd said.

"It doesn't matter. What I did was worse than if I'd pushed you off that roof myself. What I did wouldn't have just ended your life, it would've ruined your children's lives as well. They would've had to go the rest of their lives with the knowledge that their father committed suicide. All because I wanted revenge," Marty said sadly.

"Well, it didn't happen," Todd reminded her.

"Thanks to John and Blair," she commented. "Anyway, after that, I continued to self-destruct. I ignored my own son, and went back to being a person I swore I'd never be again."

Todd looked away. He wished he could stop this whole conversation, but he couldn't. Marty had the right to tell him how much she hated him. He needed to listen no matter how much he hated it.

"Then Wes died and Cole turned to drugs, and I could no longer ignore real life. From that day forward, I did what I had to to be a good mother."

"You are a good mother, Marty. Better than most I've seen," Todd told her. He'd seen the way Marty was with Cole. She loved him, but she never took any of his crap. Sh didn't let her son walk all over her the way Blair and Tea let his children do it. "I'm sorry for talking that away from you."

"Just let me finish, okay?" Marty asked.

Todd nodded.

"So then things were pretty normal for awhile. I was a mother to my son, I got my memory back, I ever had my relationship with John back. You and I had finally put everything to rest," Marty said. "Then I was pushed down the stairs, and I blamed you. I couldn't see clearly. I forgot everything I knew about you, and focused on what everyone was telling me."

Todd opened his moth to speak, but then promptly closed it. He needed to let Marty have her say.. It was the least she deserved after all the crap she'd put him through.

"I hated you. I believed that you killed my baby, and I wanted you to pay. I didn't think anything could change that," she told him. "Then I got a phone call in the middle of the night, and from that moment, everything changed. We could no longer be rapist and rape victim. We had to for Starr's sake. She needed us to set everything else aside to be there for her. And honestly, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. We didn't have to try to coexist anymore. We just did it. I moved into your house. We worked as a team to help Starr. We were, for lack of a better term, a family."

Todd smiled inwardly. He liked the sound of that.

"I never really thought about it until now. I didn't have time to think about it. We were both so busy trying to help Starr that I don't think either of us really stopped to think about what would happen in the long run," Marty said. "I know I didn't. Not until Brody told me you'd been shot. When I heard those words, something inside me just... I don't know, I just couldn't deal with you being hurt like that. I realized that you weren't just my rapist anymore. I felt something for you. Now, I don't know if I'd call it love, but It sure is hell wasn't hate."

Todd was completely blown away. That was not what he expected to hear. The way Marty started seemed like she was going to tell him how much she hated him. But she didn't. "So where do we go from here?"

"I don't know," Marty admitted. She wasn't sure where to take things. "I know we can't go back to the way things were. Hating you just isn't an option for me anymore. But I'm not sure I can be with you either. I guess we try to be friends and see where things go."

Despite the fact that he'd just taken a bullet to the chest, Todd felt like he was on cloud nine. Marty was going to entertain the idea of maybe being with him someday. That was what he'd wanted the most since Marty left his house two years ago. "I'd like that."


	21. Chapter 21

_Todd was woken up by the sound of someone entering his room. He looked over and saw Starr and Cole. "Hey."_

_Starr rushed to her father's side and gently hugged him. After a second she let go. "Are you okay?"_

"_Yeah, I'm fine. A little sore, but I'll be okay," Todd assured her. "How about you?_

"_I'm dealing," Starr said. She couldn't exactly say that she was okay because she wasn't, but she was doing her best to deal with everything._

"_Good. How's Hope?" Todd asked. _

"_She's fine. Langston's watching her. What happened didn't even seem to faze her," Starr said. She found it amazing how resilient her daughter was. She wished she could just forget everything the way Hope did._

"_Where's my mom?" Cole wondered. _

"_I'm not sure. She left a little while ago. She said she had something to go do, and that she'd be back soon," Todd told him._

_Cole nodded and took a deep breath. It was time for him to say what he really came to say. "I owe you an apology."_

_Todd stared at him and waited. He was really intrigued now. He never thought he'd hear _

"_I accused of something you didn't do. I attacked you and nearly killed you. And when everything was said and done, I tried to make that okay. It wasn't okay. There was nothing okay about it. I know that now. I was a coward. I don't know how ever could've justified what I did to you," Cole told him. For the first time, he saw what he'd done to Todd clearly. It had been horrible. Not only had he brutally attacked a man that couldn't defend himself, but he'd done it as Starr begged him to stop. It was awful. "I'm sorry. I know that doesn't make it better, but I am."_

_Todd turned to Starr. "Starr, would you leave us alone for a few minutes?"_

_Starr hesitated. She knew how much these two hated each other. She wasn't sure leaving them alone in the same room was a good idea.._

"_We're not going to kill each other. I couldn't hurt anyone right now anyway," Todd said._

"_Alright. I'll be outside," Starr said before reluctantly leaving the room._

_Todd turned and looked Cole directly in the eye. "Let's be honest with each other, alright?"_

"_Okay," Cole said. He wasn't sure what Todd was going to say, but whatever it was, he knew he deserved it._

"_You and I are never going to like each other. To me, you'll always be the little punk that attacked my daughter at that party, and to you, I'm always going to be the man that raped your mother. Am I right?" Todd asked._

"_Yes," Cole admitted. No matter what happened, he would always see Todd as his mother's rapist._

"_You don't like me, and I don't like you. Let's not pretend it's ever going to be any different."_

_Cole nodded in agreement._

"_But there's something else that's never going to change. We are always going to be in each other's lives," Todd said._

"_Well, I wouldn't have been in your life if you hadn't done what you did last night," Cole said. He didn't have any malice in his voice. In fact, he only said because he wondered why Todd had done it._

"_Yeah, well I couldn't let you die. It would've destroyed Starr and your mom," Todd told him. Starr and Marty were the ones he did it for. He wouldn't have been able to live with himself if he let them suffer like that._

_Cole nodded. He figured it has something like that. No matter what else, he knew that Todd would do anything for Starr. "Thank you. I know you didn't really do it for me, but thank you."_

_Todd nodded. "Anyway, I think it's time to move on from this crap. We don't have to like each other, but I think it's time that we stop being enemies. All it does is cause pain to the people we love._

_Cole had to admit. He was surprised. He never expected Todd to offer any type of truce. Then again, a lot had happened recently that made them both look at life differently. "I think that's a good idea," he said before sticking out his hand._

_Todd looked at the younger man's hand for a minute before eventually grasping it. He would never like Cole, but he would try to find a way to be civil each other._

_Soon there was a knock at the door, followed by Marty sticking her head in. "Hey, you guys done?" Marty asked. She'd heard from Starr that Todd and Cole were talking._

"_Yeah, we're good," Todd said._

"_Good because a have a couple of people here who would really like to see you," Marty said before walking inside and holding it open. Jack and Sam then walked into the room followed by Starr._

_Todd grew a huge smile on his face when saw his two young sons. "Hey, guys._

"_Hi, Dad," Jack said as he and Sam ran over to him._

"_Are you okay, Daddy?" Sam asked. He was young, but he understood that if his father was in the hospital, that meant that he was sick._

"_Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a little hurt," Todd told his youngest._

"_How did you get hurt?" Sam asked as he tried to climb up on his father's bed. Marty went over and helped the small boy up._

"_he was sh-" Jack started to say._

"_Jack!" all four adults yelled at once. _

"_What? I was just trying to answer his question?" Jack said._

"_Your brother doesn't need to know the details," Todd said before turning back to Sam. "I just had a little accident."_

"_Are you better now?" Sam asked._

"_Not quite, but the doctors are taking care of me. I'll be better before you know it," Todd assured his son. He then turned to Marty. "How'd you get Blair to let you take them?"_

"_I didn't. Blair wasn't home. I convinced Addie to let me bring them to see you," Marty said. She had no doubt that if it had been up to Blair, the boys wouldn't have been able to come._

"_Thanks," Todd said. He'd really missed being with the boys. He hadn't really been able to see him since everything that happened with Starr. He just figured that the boys shouldn't be around that._

_Marty nodded and turned to Cole and Starr. "Hey, why don't you guys take the boys to get a snack."_

"_Yeah, sure. Come on guys," Cole said picking Sam up off the bed and into his arms. The four of them then left._

"_Is everything alright?" Todd asked._

"_Yeah, I just wanted to let you know that Jack was quite upset when I got to the house," Marty said. The kid was acting tough now, but at the time, he'd been really upset._

"_Why? What happened?" Todd asked._

"_He'd heard what happened to you on the news. He was really worried about you," Marty said._

_Todd felt anger build up inside him. "Why the hell did he find out from TV? Where the hell was Blair._

"_According to Jack, she left last night and hasn't been back since," Marty told him._

_Todd was seething. He was really sick of Blair doing things like this. She was always dumping the boy's on her family members so that she could go run around town with her newest conquest._

"_Todd, I know you're upset, and rightfully so, but you need to calm down. You're still recovering. At least table it until you're better," Marty said._

_Todd sighed. "Alright._

"_Okay, I'm going to go find the kids. You should get some sleep," she told him._

"_Yeah, yeah," Todd said before laying down completely and closing his eyes._

_Xxxxxxxxxx_

_A few hours later, Cole found his mother looking in the window to Todd's room. He cold tell she cared about him. He could tell even before that, but he really hadn't had time to deal with it until now. He wasn't sure he liked that. Sure, he and Todd had come to an understanding, but that didn't' mean he wanted the man around his mother._

_Marty turned and saw her son staring at her. She could tell what he was thinking. "I don't want to hear it, Cole."_

"_I didn't say anything," Cole said._

"_You didn't have to. It's written all over your face," Marty said._

"_I'm worried about you, Mom. He's not a good guy," Cole told her._

"_He just saved your life. Have you already forgotten that?" Marty asked._

"_No, I haven't. I'm grateful for what he did for me, but that doesn't change what he's done in the past. He raped you. Can you really forgive him for that?" Cole asked._

'_Whether I can or whether I can't is between him and me. It's not up to you," Marty told her son._

"_I know that. I know that I can't tell you who to have in your life. I'm just worried about you. I don't trust him," Cole said._

"_Cole, I appreciate your concern, but you need to stay out of it. I understand that you don't like Todd. I'm not asking you to. I am asking to back off though. Whatever happens between Todd and me is between us," Marty told him. She loved him, but it was her life. She wouldn't allow him to interfere._

_Cole sighed. He didn't like it, but he knew he had to back off. It was his mother's life. He couldn't live it for her. If he tried, it would just cause more drama for all of them. "Okay."_

_Xxxxxxxxxxx_

_A few days later, Marty, Cole, Starr, Hope, who was in Cole's arms, and the boys brought Todd home from the hospital. Marty pushed Todd, who was in a wheelchair, inside. She then helped him to the couch._

"_Finally. No more doctors poking and prodding me," Todd said._

_Marty laughed. "Trust me, I think they were just as happy as you were when you were finally released." Todd had been giving the entire staff a hard time after the first few day he was there._

"_No one could be happier than me. I'm finally home with most of my children," Todd said. Dani was the only one who wasn't there. She still refused to talk to him. However, that was another day's problem. Right now he just wanted to enjoy the day with the rest of his children._

"_Are you better yet, Daddy?" Sam asked._

"_He's almost better, Sam. He still needs to rest for a few days," Marty told the little boy. She then turned to Todd. "And he will."_

"_Yeah, yeah, yeah," Todd said. "I'll be as good as new in a few days, Sam?"_

"_Good," Sam said._

"_How long do we get to stay, Dad?" Jack asked. They hadn't really been able to stay with there father for awhile._

_Todd looked at Starr. He wanted to make sure she was okay with everyone being there. He knew she was still dealing with a lot._

"_Actually, I think it's time for Cole, Hope, and I to go home," Starr said._

"_Are you sure, honey," Marty asked. She wanted to make sure that was something Starr was comfortable with._

_Starr nodded. "I think it's time. I can't avoid the rest of the world forever. I won't let what Hannah did control my entire life."_

_Marty smiled. "Good for you. I just want to make sure this is what you really want."_

"_It is. It's time for me to take my life, and it's time for you guys to figure out where yours go from here," Starr said. She knew that something was going on between her father and Marty. It was easy to tell. She hoped they would be alright._

"_Don't worry about us, Starr. It's you we're worried about," Todd said._

"_I'm going to be okay, Dad. Maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but eventually I'll be alright," Starr said. She hoped so anyway. She didn't want to let what happened to her destroy her life._

"_You make sure to call if you need us," Marty told her._

"_I will," Starr promised. She then turned to Cole. "Let's go." _

_They then walked out the front door. "You ready to go home?"_

"_Yeah," Starr said. It would be a long time before she truly healed, but it was time for her to take her life back. She knew she would never forget what happened to that horrible night, but she could get through it. She could start again. And the first step to that was to go home._

_THE END_

_**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this story. I will be adding a sequel to this at some point, so if you liked this, you might want to look for it.**_


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